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Presented, by JOHN JAY.
24 Washington Square,
New York, April 30, 1878.

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MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS

ON

SLAVERY.

BY WILLIAM JAY.

BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT & COMPANY.
CLEVELAND, OHIO:
JEWETT, PROCTOR, AND WORTHINGTON.
LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, SON AND CO.
1853.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by JOHN P. JEWETT & CO.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Press of Dnnu-cll & Moore, IG Devonshire Street, Boston.

CONTENTS

inquiry into the chaeactee and tendency of the
American Colonization, and American Anti-
Slaveey Societies,  Page 7
A View of the Action of the Federal Govern
ment, in behalf of Slaveey,  . 207
On the Condition of the Feee People of Color
in the United States,  371
Address to the Friends of Constitutional Lib-
eety, on the Violation by the United States
House of Representatives of the Right of
Petition,  397
Introductory Remarks to the Reproof of the
American Church contained in the recent
"History of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in America," by the Bishop of Oxford, . . . 409
A Letter to the Right Rev. L. Silliman Ives,
Bishop of the Protestant Church in the
State of North Carolina,  453
Address to the Inhabitants of New Mexico and
California, on the omission by Congress to
provide them with Territorial Governments,
and on the Social and Political Evils of
Slavery,  491
Letter to Hon. William Nelson, M. C, on Mr.
Clay's Compromise,  553

vi contents.
A Letter to the Hon. Samuel A. Eliot, Repre
sentative IN CONGEESS FROM THE ClTY OP BOS
TON, IN REPLY TO HIS APOLOGY FOR VOTING FOR
the Fugitive Slave Bill,  571
An Address to the Anti-Slaveey Cheistians op the
United States. Signed by a number op Cler
gymen and othees,  621
Letter to Rev. R. S. Cook, Cokresponding Secre
tary of the American Tract Society, . . . 641
Letter to Lewis Tappan, Esq., Treasurer op the
American Missionary Association,  661

INQUIRY
INTO THE
CHARACTER AND TENDENCY
or THE
AMERICAN COLONIZATION,
AND
AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY
S 0 CIETIE S.

' Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely, according to my conscience,
above all liberties."— Milton.

PREFACE

No allusion has been made in the following pages to certain popular
objections to the Colonization Society ; nor have any cases of individ
ual cruelty been cited, to illustrate the evils of slavery. It is proper
that the reasons for this departure from the ordinary mode of discussing
these two subjects should be given, that they may not be misunder
stood. The objections I have omitted to notice, are, the mortality to which
the emigrants are exposed in consequence of the climate of Liberia ;
the demoralizing traffic which the colonists have carried on with the
natives, in rum and military stores ; and the improvident application
of the funds of the Society, which has rendered it bankrupt.
These objections, serious as they are in themselves, are not insepara
ble from the system of Colonization. Another, and more salubrious
site, may be selected ; the traffic complained of, may be discontinued ;
and the fiscal affairs of the Society may be managed with prudence and
economy. But there are inherent evils in the system, and it is impor
tant that the public attention should not be diverted from these evils,
by the contemplation of others which are only accidental.
So, also, it is important, that the sinfulness of slavery should not be
merged in that of its unauthorized abuses. Many contend for the
lawfulness of slavery who readily admit the sinfulness of insulated cases
of cruelty. It has, therefore, been my object to show that, admitting
the slaves to be treated as a prudent farmer treats his cattle, — that they
have enough to eat, are sheltered from the inclemency of the weather,
and are not subjected to a greater degree of severity than is necessary
to extort from them a due amount of labor, ¦ — American slavery is,
nevertheless, a heinous sin, and, like every other sin, ought to be
immediately abandoned.
February, 1835

PART I.
AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

INTRODUCTION.

On the 1st of January, 1835, there were in the United States,
2,245,144 slaves.* This number about equals the population of
Holland, and exceeds that of Scotland, of the Danish Dominions, of the
Swiss Confederation, and of various Republics in South America.
These millions of human beings are held as chattels by a people pro
fessing to acknowledge, that " all men are created equal, and endowed
with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness : " they are, moreover, kept in ignorance, and
compelled to live without God, and to die without hope, by a people
professing to reverence the obligations of Christianity.
But slavery has ceased in other countries, where it formerly pre
vailed ; and may we not hope that it is gradually expiring in this ?
Such a hope is, alas, forbidden by the following statement of our slave
population, at different periods :

United States,
Kentucky,

1790,

697,697 12,430

1835,1830,

2,245,144 165,350

Mississippi and \
Alabama, \
Louisiana,
Missouri,

1800,1810, a

3,489
34,660 3,011

a

182,953
109,631 24,990

Perhaps, however, the political evils of slavery may be gradually
mitigated, and finally removed, by an increasing preponderance in the
white population. Unfortunately, we are compelled by facts to antici
pate a very different result. A comparison of the census of 1830, with
* According to the ratio of increase between 1820 and 1830.

Free.

North Carolina,

13.4 per ct.

South Carolina,

8.7

Alabama,

124

Mississippi,

66.8

Missouri,

104.3

Louisiana,

25.6

Tennessee,

59.5

Kentucky,

19.6

Arkansas Territory,

104.3 ,

12 introduction.
that of 1820, affords us the following ratio of increase in the free and
slave population, for the intermediate ten years : Slave.
20.2 per ct.
22.1
180.4100.1144.7 58.7 77.7
30.4
180
It is obvious, from these details, that, if the present system be con
tinued, the time cannot be far distant, when the slaves will possess a
frightful numerical superiority over their masters. Already do they
bear to the whites, in the slave States and Territories, the proportion
of 1 to 2.79. In South Carolina and Louisiana, they are now a ma
jority. But in our contemplation of slavery, the sufferings of Jhe slaves
claim our consideration, no less than the dangers to which the whites
are exposed. The ordinary evils of slavery, are, in this country,
greatly aggravated by a cruel and extensive slave-trade. Various
circumstances have, of late years, combined to lessen the demand for
slave-labor in the more northern, and to increase it in the more south
ern and western portions of the slave-region ; while the enlarged
consumption of sugar and cotton is enhancing the market value of
slaves. The most profitable employment of this species of labor, is
unfortunately found in those States, which, from their recent settle
ment, possess immense tracts which are still to be brought into cultiva
tion, and in which, consequently, there now is, and will long continue
to be, an urgent demand for slaves. Hence has arisen a prodigious
and annually increasing transportation of slaves to the south and west.
_ There are no official data from which the amount of this transporta
tion can be ascertained ; but from facts that have transpired, and from
estimates made at the South, there is reason to believe that it exceeds
thirty thousand a year. One of the peculiar abominations of this trade,
is, that its victims are almost exclusively children and youths. Instead
of removing whole families and gangs of negroes, the dealers for the
most part, according to their own advertisements, select individuals,
" of both sexes, from twelve to twenty-five years."
He _ surely can have little claim to the character of a patriot or
a Christian, who does not desire that his country may be delivered
from the sin and curse of slavery ; or who refuses even to consider the
means proposed for effecting this great object.
A powerful institution is now in operation, which professes to be not
merely a remedy for slavery, but the only remedy that can be
devised. It appeals to religion and patriotism,, for those pecuniary
aids, which, it contends, are alone wanting, to enable ittotransnort our
whole colored population to Africa, there to enjoy the freedom denied

INTRODUCTION. 13
to them here ; and there to become the dispensers of religion, and the
arts and sciences, to that benighted continent.
If the claims of the American Colonization Society are founded in
truth, they cannot be resisted without guilt. Very many, however,
who are alike distinguished for piety and talents, instead of allowing
these claims, strenuously maintain, that the practical tendency of the
Society, is to perpetuate the evils it professes to remove ; and to extend
to Africa, the vices, but not the blessings of civilization. These con
flicting opinions, on a subject so momentous, demand a calm and
patient investigation ; since he who either supports or opposes the
Colonization Society, without first ascertaining its true character, the
results it has produced, and the influence it exerts, incurs the hazard,
as far as his example and efforts extend, of increasing the wretchedness
he would relieve, and of fastening upon his country, the burden under
which she is struggling.
If, in a question involving the temporal and eternal happiness of
unborn millions, we could satisfy our consciences by bowing to the
authority of great names, we should still be painfully embarrassed in
selecting those, to whose decision we should surrender our own judg
ments. The excellent of the earth are to be found among the friends
and enemies of this association ; and if various ecclesiastical bodies in
our own country, have recommended it to the patronage of their
churches, it is regarded with abhorrence by almost the whole religious
community of Great Britain ; and the last effort made by Wilber
force in the great cause of negro liberty, was, to address to the people
of Great Britain his solemn protest against the doctrines and conduct of
the American Colonization Society.
This Institution may have been formed by good men, and from the
purest motives, yet it is possible that its operation may not have been
such as they anticipated. " So many unforseen, concealed, and inap
preciable causes," says a very eminent writer, " have an influence on
human institutions, that it is impossible to judge a priori of their
effects. Nothing but a long series of experiments, can unfold these
effects, and point out the means of counteracting those that are hurtful."
The following inquiry has been commenced, and pursued under a
deep sense of the importance of the subject, and with a solemn recol
lection, that no deviation from truth can escape the notice and dis
pleasure of Him, unto whom all hearts are open, and from whom no
secrets are hid.

2*

CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN, CONSTITUTION, AND CHARACTER OF THE AMERICAN
COLONIZATION SOCIETY.
On the 23d of December, 1816, the Legislature of Virginia
passed a resolution requesting the Governor to correspond with
the President of the United States, " for the purpose of obtaining
a territory on the coast of Africa, or at some other place not
within any of the States, or territorial governments of the United
States, to serve as an asylum for such persons of color as are
now. free, and may desire the same, and for those who may
hereafter be emancipated within this Commonwealth."
Within a few days of the date of this resolution, a meeting
was held at Washington to take this very subject into consider
ation. It was composed almost entirely of southern gentlemen.
Judge Washington presided: Mr. Clay, Mr. Randolph, and
others, took part in the discussions which ensued, and which
resulted in the organization of the American Colonization
Society. Judge Washington was chosen President, and of the
seventeen Vice Presidents, only five were selected from the free
States, while the twelve managers were, it is believed, without
one exception, slave-holders.
The first two articles of the constitution are the only ones
relating to the object of the Society. They are as follows :
Art I. This Society shall be called the American Society for col
onizing the free people of color of the United States.
Art. H. The object to which its attention is to be exclusively di
rected, is to promote and execute a plan for colonizing (with their

16 jay's works.
consent) the free people of color residing in our country, in Africa, or
such other place as Congress shall deem most expedient. And the
Society shall act to effect this object in cooperation with the general
government and such of the States as may adopt regulations on the
subject. It is worthy of remark, that this constitution has no preamble
setting forth the motives which led to its adoption, and the
sentiments entertained by its authors. There is no one single
principle of duty Or policy recognized in it, and the members
may, without inconsistency, be Christians or infidels ; they may
be the friends or enemies of slavery, and may be actuated by
kindness or by hatred towards "the free people of color."
The omission of all avowal of motives was, probably, not
without design, and has not been without effect. It has secured
the cooperation of three distinct classes. First, such as sincerely
desire to afford the free blacks an asylum from the oppression
they_ suffer here, and by their means to extend to Africa the
blessings of Christianity and civilization, and who at the same
time flatter themselves that colonization will have a salutary
influence in accelerating the abolition of slavery : secondly, such
as expect to enhance the value and security of slave property,
by removing the free blacks : and, thirdly, such as seek rehef
from a bad population, without the trouble and expense of
improving it.
The doors of the Society being thrown open to all, a hetero
geneous multitude has entered, and within its portals men are
brought into contact, who in the ordinary walks of life, are
separated by a common repulsion. The devoted missionary,
ready to pour out his life on the sands of Africa, is jostled by
the trafficker in human flesh ; the humble, self-denying Christian,
listens to the praises of the Society from the unblushing profli
gate ; and the friend of human rights and human happiness
greets as his fellow-laborer the man whose very contribution to
the cause is extorted from the unrequited labor of his fellow-men.
This anomalous amalgamation of characters and motives, has
necessarily led to a lamentable compromise of principle. What
ever may be the object each member proposes to himself, he is
conscious it can be effected only by the harmonious cooperation
of all the other members. Hence it is all important to avoid

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 17
giving and taking offence ; and never was the maxim, " bear and
forbear," more scrupulously obeyed. Certain irreconcilable
opinions, but regarded by their holders as fundamental, are, by
common consent, wholly suppressed ; while in matters of less
importance, the expression of opposite sentiments is freely
allowed, and borne with commendable patience.
The advocates of slavery forbear shocking its opponents by
justifying it in the abstract, and in return for this complaisance,
those opponents forbear condemning it in particulars. Each
party consents to make certain concessions to conciliate the
other. The Southron admits slavery to be a political evil ; the
northern member courteously replies, that under present circum
stances, it is unavoidable, and therefore justifiable. The actual
condition of the slave, his mental bondage, his bodily sufferings,
are understood to be forbidden topics.
The oppressor of the free negro dwells on his depravity and
degradation ; the friend of the free negro admits, and often
aggravates the charges against him, but carefully abstains from
all allusion to the true causes of that depravity and degradation,
unless to excuse them as being inevitable. Both parties unite
in depicting in glowing colors, the effects of the oppression of the
free negro, in order to prove the humanity of banishing him from
the country ; while both refrain from all attempts to remove or
lessen the oppression.
The simplicity of the object of the Society as stated in its
constitution, tends in a powerful degree to encourage and enforce
this compromise of principle. The constitution, in fact, vests a
discretionary veto in every member on the expression of unpal
atable opinions. The attention of the Society is to be " exclu
sively " directed to the colonization of persons of color, and the
constitution contains no allusion to slavery. Hence any denun
ciation of slavery as sinful,* any arguments addressed to slave

* Candor requires the admission that there isat least one exception to this
remark. At the annual meeting of the Society in 1834, the Rev. Mr. Breck-
enridge, in his speech, insisted on the sinfulness of slavery. A distinguished
lay memher of the Society, who was present, complained to the author of Mr.
B.'s unconstitutional conduct, and declared that he was strongly tempted
publicly to call him to order.

Missing Page

Missing Page

20 jay's works.
explanation of the ' process by which many excellent men
belonging to it, have insensibly been seduced into conduct of at
least doubtful morality. The charges now made will in due
time be substantiated by authentic facts, and by quotations from
the language, both official and private, of members of the
Society. True it is, that colonizationists protest most earnestly against
being judged by any but the ofiicial language of the Board of
Managers. To the justice of this protest it is impossible to
assent. The Society is arraigned at the bar of the public, not
for the object avowed in the constitution, but for the influence it
exerts in vindicating and prolonging slavery, and in augment
ing the oppression of the free blacks. This influence, if exerted
at all, must be exerted by individuals in the capacity of mem
bers, agents, and officers of v the Society, and the only means
they possess of exerting this influence, is by the expression of
their sentiments. To insist, therefore, that these sentiments
may not be quoted, to show what influence the Society does
exert, is to contradict the plainest suggestions of common sense.
Certainly the whole Society is not, necessarily responsible for
the sentiments of a single member ; but the question is not,
whether one or two or more members have said improper things,
but whether the influence generally exerted by the Society, is
what it is alleged to be ; and this is a question of fact, to be
decided by evidence, and that evidence necessarily consists of
the opinions expressed by its officers, agents, and distinguished
members, and auxiliary associations.
This protest, moreover, comes with an ill grace from a Society
that has appealed to the letters and the speeches of its members,
to repel the objection urged against it in certain quarters, of a
desire to interfere with the rights of slave-holders.* Should
the members and officers of an Anti-Slavery Society, continually,
at its public meetings, deliver addresses in favor of intermar
riages between whites and blacks — should auxiliaries pass
resolutions approving of such marriages — should these addresses
* See Afr. Rep., VI, 198.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 21
and resolutions be published and circulated at the expense of
the Society, and should its official magazine recommend such
marriages, — would it not be the excess of disingenuousness for
the Society to attempt to repel the charge that its influence was
exerted to bring about an amalgamation of the two races, by
denying that it was responsible for the language of its members,
and by appealing to its constitution and official reports, in which
no allusion was made to the subject ? All that can fairly be
demanded, is that the quotations be honestly made, and that they
be sufficiently numerous and explicit to establish the facts they
are brought to prove. It must not, however, be supposed, that
we intend to prove our charges against the Society, only by the
declarations of individual members. On the contrary, we shall
summon as witnesses, the Managers of the parent Society,
and its auxiliaries ; and shall exhibit in evidence their official
reports and addresses. In the following pages will be found
numerous extracts from colonization documents ; and it is right
to observe, that they are for the most part merely selections, and
bearing generally but a small proportion to the whole number
of extracts to the same point, that might have been adduced.
Some few of the extracts have been made by other writers ; but
the great mass of them have been selected by the author, and
in no instance has he given a quotation which he does not believe
is fairly and honestly made. To prevent mistakes, it may be
well to mention, that the African Repository is a monthly maga
zine, and is, as appears from the title-page, " published by order
of the Managers of the American Colonization Society." The
Editor is understood to be the Secretary of the Society. This
periodical, together with the annual reports, and occasional
official addresses, is the only publication for which the man
agers of the Society are responsible ; when colonization news
papers are mentioned, nothing more is intended by the expres
sion, than that they are papers which espouse the cause of the
Society.

22 jay's WORKS.

CHAPTER II.
INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY ON THE CONDITION OF FREE
PERSONS OF COLOR.
The object of the Society is declared by the constitution, to
be exclusively the colonization of free persons of color, with
their own consent. Now there is nothing in this object neces
sarily benevolent. A colony may be established for commercial
purposes, or as a military station, or as a receptacle for convicts,
or to aid the diffusion of Christianity. The absence in the
constitution of all avowed motive for the proposed colony,
invites the cooperation of all who advocate the scheme from
any motive whatever. For the purpose of raising money, it is
the policy of the Society to appeal to all the various and
discordant motives that can be incited in behalf of the colony.
A strong and very general prejudice exists against the free
blacks. It is unfortunately the policy of the Society to aggra
vate this prejudice, since the more we abominate these people,
the more willing we shall be to pay money for the purpose of
getting rid of them. The influence of the doctrine of expedi
ency on good men, will be seen in the unchristian language they
have used in regard to this unhappy and oppressed portion of
their fellow-men.
" Free blacks are a greater nuisance than even slaves themselves."
Address of C. C. Harper, Afr. Rep., H, 189.
" A horde of miserable people — the objects of universal suspicion-
subsisting by plunder." Speech of Gen. Mercer, Vice President.
" Of all classes of our population, the most vicious is that of the free
colored — contaminated themselves, they extend their vices to all
around them." Speech of Mr. Clay, Vice President, 12th Report, p. 21.
" Averse to labor, with no incentives to industry, or motives to respect.
they maintain a precarious existence by petty thefts and plunder."
African Hep., VI, 135. r
« They are alike injurious by their conduct and example to all other
classes of society. Memorial of Manchester Col. Soc. to Virainia
Legislature. y
"• i !f ge,mf S °f ^UTr h3nf ^h° hanS as a »He excrescence upon
society." Address of C. L. Mosby, before a Col. Soc. in Virginia.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 23
" This class of persons a curse and contagion wherever they
reside." African Rep., IH, 203.
" Of all the descriptions of our population, and of either portion of
the African race, the free persons of color are by far, as a class, the
most corrupt, depraved and abandoned." Speech of Mr. Clay, African
Rep., VI, 12.
" An anomalous race of beings, the most depraved upon earth."
African Rep., VII, 230.
" They are a mildew upon our fields, a scourge to our backs, and a
stain upon our escutcheon." Memorial of Kentucky Col. Soc. to Con
gress. " I will look no farther when I seek for the most degraded, the most
abandoned race on the earth, but rest my eye on this people." Address
before the Lynchburg Col. Society.
" There is a class (free blacks) among us, introduced by violence,
notoriously ignorant, degraded and miserable, mentally diseased,
broken-spirited, acted upon by no motives to honorable exertions,
scarcely reached in their debasement by the heavenly light." Edi
torial Article, Afr. Rep., I, 68.
We may here remark, that the -tone of these extracts is ver^
different from that used when the speaker desires to excite
sympathy for the wretched. We are told that these people are
vicious and debased, but no hint is given that their vice and
debasement are the result of sinful prejudices and cruel laws.
No appeal is made to the spirit of Christianity to pour oil and
wine into the wound of suffering humanity. We are not re
minded that these wretches are our brethren, for whom Christ
died. Nothing is omitted to impress us with a sense of- the
depth of the misery into which they are plunged ; but for what
object are these frightful pictures presented to us ? Is it to urge
us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to instruct the
ignorant, and to reform the wicked ? No, but to transport them
to Africa !
To an unsophisticated Christian it would seem that the true
way of relieving the wretchedness and vice of these people
would be, first to protest against their unrighteous oppression,
and to procure the repeal of those laws which forbid their
instruction ; and then to make them partakers of the blessings of
education and religion. But far from the Colonization Society
are all such old-fashioned ways of doing good. Instead of pro-

24 jay's WORKS.
testing against the causes of all this misery, the Society ex
cuses AND JUSTIFIES THE OPPRESSION OF THE FREE NEGROES,
AND THE PREJUDICES AGAINST THEM.
"Severe necessity places them (free negroes) in a class of
degraded beings." Address of Mr. Rives to Lynchburg Col. Soc, Afr.
Rep., V, 238.
" The severe legislation, — / will not say that under all circumstances it
is too severe, — the severe legislation of the slave States, which drives
their emancipated blacks to the free States, and scatters the nuisance
there, attests that we have a share in this evil." Speech of G. Smith,
Esq., Vice President, lith Report, p. xiii.
" This law,'' (a law by which a manumitted negro becomes again a
slave if he remains twelve months in the State,) " odious and unjust as it
may at first view appear, and hard as it may seem to bear upon the liber
ated negro, was doubtless dictated by sound policy, and its repeal would
be regarded by none with more unfeigned regret than by the friends
of African Colonization. It has restrained many masters from giving
freedom to their slaves, and has thereby contributed to check the growth
of an evil already too great and formidable." Memorial from Powliat-
tan Col. Soc. to Virginia Legislature.
" I am clear, that whether we consider it with reference to the
welfare of the State, or the happiness of the blacks, it were better to
have them left in chains, than to have liberated them to receive such
freedom as they enjoy, and greater freedom we cannot, must not allow
them." Afr. Rep., HI, 197.
" The habits, the feelings, all the prejudices of society, prejudices
which neither refinement, nor argument, nor education, nor religion
itself can subdue, mark the people of color, whether bond or free,
as the subjects of a degradation inevitable and incurable." Address of
the Connecticut Col. Soc.
"The managers consider it clear that causes exist and are now
operating to prevent their improvement and elevation to any consider
able extent as a class in this country, which are fixed not only beyond the
control of the friends of humanity, but of any human power • Chris
tianity can not do for them here what it will do for them in Africa.
This is not the fault of the colored man, nor of the white man hut
an ordination of Providence, and no more to be chanqed 'than
the laws of nature." -15th Rep., p. 47.
"We do not ask that the provisions of our constitution and statute
book should be so modified as to relieve and exalt the condition of the
colored people whilst they remain with us. Let these provisions stand
in all their rigor to work out the ultimate and unbounded good
of these people. Memorial of the New York State Col. Soc to the
Legislature. "If we were constrained to admire so uncommon a being," (a pious,
highly cultivated, scientific negro,) "our very admiration would be
mingled with disgust, because in the physical organization of his frame

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 25
we meet an insurmountable barrier even to approach to social inter
course, and in the Egyptian color which nature has stamped on his
features, a prmciple of repulsion so strong as to forbid the idea of a
communion, either of interest, or of feeling, as utterly abhorrent."
Afr. Rep., VH, p. 331.
We find from the foregoing extracts that the Board of Man
agers of the American Colonization Society officially declare,
that no human power can counteract the causes which prevent
the elevation and improvement of the free black in this country.
That not even the religion of Christ can in this land of light, of
Bibles, and of temples, do for him what it can amid the darkness
and paganism of Africa. And we find a powerful State Society
recommending to the Legislature to do evil that good may come.
Now if it be true, that the degradation of the free blacks is
inevitable, and cannot even be removed by Christianity, then,
indeed, as the Society affirms, it is not the "fault" of the white
man, and he not being in fault, there is no reason why he
should "change his conduct towards them or repeal those laws
which Mr Smith will not say are under all circumstances " too
severe." Let us see what are these laws, which a most worthy
colonizationist ahd a distinguished officer of the Society inti
mates are not too severe ; and what are those causes of degra
dation which we are assured by the Board of Managers are an
ordination of Providence, and no more to be changed than the
laws of nature.
In some of the States, if a free man of color is accused of
crime, he is denied the benefit of those forms of trial which the
Common Law has established for the protection of innocence.
Thus in South Carolina it is thought quite unnecessary to give
a Grand and Petit Jury the trouble of inquiring into his case ;
he can be hung without so much ceremony. But who is a colored
man ? We answer, the fairest man hi Carolina, if it can be proved
that a drop of negro blood flowed in the veins of his mother. The
following extract from a late Charleston paper gives us a
curious instahce of the administration of criminal justice in a
Christian country in the nineteenth century :
"Trial for Murder. — William Tann, a free colored man, was
tried on Friday last, at John's Island, for the murder of Moses, the
3*

26 . jay's works.
slave of Jos. D. Jenkins, Esq., of that place. The Court consisted of
William H. Inglesby and Alexander H. Brown, Esqrs., Judicial Magis
trates," (Justices of the Peace,) " of this city, together with>e free
holders. The murder was committed at John s Island on the 4th July,
1832, Tann shooting down Moses with a musket loaded with buckshot.
Tann was at that time overseer of a Mr. Murray, and fronv the fairness
of his complexion was thought to be and passed for a WHITE MAN.
He was accordingly bound over to answer for this offence to the
Court of Sessions, but it having been decided on an issue ordered
and tried at Walterborough, for the purpose of ascertaining his caste,
that he was of mixed blood, he was turned over by the Court, to the
jurisdiction of Magistrates and Freeholders. The Court found him
guilty, and sentenced him to be hung on Friday, the 24th April, next,"
1835. — Charleston Courier.
In South Carolina, if a free negro " entertains " a runaway
slave, he forfeits ten pounds, and if unable to pay the fine, which
must be the case ninety-nine times in a hundred, he is to be sold
as a slave for life. In 1827, a free woman and her three children
were thus sold, for harboring two slave children.
In Mississippi, every negro or mulatto, not being able to prove
himself free, may be sold as a slave. Should the certificate of
his manumission, or the evidence of his parent's freedom, be
lost or stolen, he is reduced to hopeless bondage. This provision
extends to most of the slave States, and is in full operation in the
District of Columbia.
In South Carolina, any assembly of free negroes, even in the
presence of white persons, "in a confined or secret place, for the
purpose of mental instruction," is an unlawful assembly, and may
be dispersed by a magistrate, who is authorized to inflict twenty
lashes on each free negro attending the meeting.
In the city of Savannah, any person who teaches a free negro
to read or write, incurs a penalty of thirty dollars. Of course, a
father may not instruct his own children.
In Maryland, a Justice of the Peace may order a free negro's
ears to be cut off for striking a white man. In Kentucky, for
the same offence, he is to receive thirty lashes, " well laid on."
The law of Louisiana declares, « Free people of color ought
never to insult or strike white people, nor presume to conceive
themselves equal to the whites ; but, on the contrary, they ought
to yield to them on every occasion, and never speak or answer

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 27
them but with respect, under the penalty of imprisonment,
according to the nature of the case.''
The corporation of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia,
passed an ordinance, making it penal for any free negro to
receive from the post-office, have in his possession, or circulate,
any publication or writing whatsoever of a seditious character.
In North Carolina, the law prohibits a free colored man,
whatever may be his attainments or ecclesiastical authority, to
preach the gospel.
In Georgia, a white man is liable to a fine of five hundred
dollars for teaching a free negro to read or write. If one free
negro teach another, he is to be fined and whipped at the dis
cretion of the court ! Should a free negro presume to preach
to, or exhort his companions, he may be seized without warrant,
and whipped thirty-nine lashes, and the same number of lashes
may be applied to each one of his congregation.
In Virginia, should free negroes or their children assemble
at a school to learn reading and writing, any Justice of the
Peace may dismiss the school with twenty stripes on the back of
each pupil.
In some States, free negroes may not assemble together for
any purpose, to a greater number than seven. In North Caro
lina, free negroes may not trade, buy, or sell, out of the cities or
towns in which they reside, under the penalty of forfeiting their
goods, and receiving, in lieu thereof, thirty-nine lashes.
The laws of Ohio against the free blacks are peculiarly de
testable, because not originating from the fears and prejudices
of slave-holders. Not only are the blacks excluded in that
State from the benefit of public schools, but with a refinement of
cruelty unparelleled, they are doomed to idleness and poverty,
by a law which renders a white man who employs a colored one
to labor for him one hour, liable for his support through life !
By a late law of Maryland, a free negro coming into the
State is liable to a fine of fifty dollars for every week he re
mains in it. If he cannot pay the fine, he is sold.
In Louisiana, the penalty for instructing a free black in a
Sunday School, is, for the first offence, five hundred dollars ; for
the second offence, death !

28 JAY'S WORKS.
Such in a greater or less degree, is the situation of tliree
hundred thousand of our fellow-citizens ; and the only comfort,
the only consolation, the only mitigation of their sufferings,
which a Society, said to be " fuU of benevolence and the hallowed
impulses of Heaven's own mercy," proposes, or even wishes for
them, is their transportation to Africa !
Is this a harsh assertion ? Let us attend to the proofs that
the Society discourages all attempts to improve the
condition of the free blacks.
We have already seen that the managers of the American
Colonization Society officially declare, that, in their opinion, no
human power can remove the causes which prevent the im
provement and elevation of the free negroes to any considerable
extent in this country; and that the New York Society, in
addressing the Legislature, expresses then desire, that the pro
visions in the constitution and statute book of that State, relative
to the blacks, may " stand in all their rigor." The provision in
the constitution here alluded to, is that recent one, which, by
requiring a freehold qualification, virtually deprived the blacks
of the elective franchise, which the fathers of the Revolution had
given them. In the Convention by which the new constitution
was formed, many of the most distinguished citizens and able
lawyers, including Rufus King and Chancellor Kent, had pro
tested against this proscription as unjust and anti-republican ;
but the Colonization Society declare to the Legislature, without
whose consent this provision cannot be changed} that they wish it
to stand in all its rigor. Not contented with giving their sanc
tion to past acts of injustice, the Society use their influence with the
Legislature to prevent its benevolent operation in future. Their
Memorial proceeds : — " Persuaded that their condition here is
not susceptible of a radical and permanent improvement, we
would deprecate any legislation that should encourage the vain
and injurious hope of it."
The Connecticut Colonization Society, in its address already
quoted, denies that even -religion itself" can subdue the preju-
dices existing against these people. The same address author
itatively decides, that the free blacks " constitute a class by
themselves, a class out of which no individual can be elevated."

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 29
The Kentucky State Colonization Society, in its official
address, says :
" It is against this increase of colored persons, who take but a nom
inal freedom, and cannot rise from their degraded condition, that this
Society attempts to provide." Afr. Rep., VI, 82.
" The people of color must, in this country, remain for ages, probably
forever, a separate and distinct caste, weighed down by causes power
ful, universal, invincible, which neither legislation NOR Christianity
can remove." Afr. Rep., Edit. Art., Vn, 196.
"We have endeavored, but in vain, to restore them (the free
negroes) either to self-respect, or to the respect of others. It is not
our fault that we have failed. It is not theirs. It has resulted from a
cause over which neither we nor they can ever have control." Speech
of Rev. Dr. Nott before N. York Col. Soc.
This last extract claims attention from the extraordinary
assertions which it contains, and from the high character of the
author. No explanations are given of the vain endeavors which
have been made to restore the blacks either to self-respect, or
to the respect of others. When, where, by whom, and how
were these efforts made ? Dr. Nott is addressing the State
Society, and speaks in the plural number. We confess we see
nothing like such efforts in the Memorial of that Society to the
Legislature. It is moreover to be recollected, that the American
Society, in its address to its auxiliaries, warns them against such
efforts. " The moral, intellectual, and political improvement of people of
color within the United States, are objects foreign to the powers of this
Society." Address of the Am. Col. Soc. to its auxiliaries. Afr. Rep.,
VII, 291.
Let us see also what two religious colonization papers say on
this subject.
" If the free people of color were generally taught to read, it might
be an inducement to them to remain in this country ; we would offer
them no such inducements." Southern Religious Telegraph, Febru
ary, 19, 1831.
" It must appear evident to all, that every endeavor to divert the
attention of the community, or even a portion of the means which the
present crisis so imperatively calls for, from the Colonization Society, to
measures calculated to bind the colored population to this country, and
seeking to raise them to a level with the whites, whether by founding
colleges, or in any other way, tends directly in the proportion that it
succeeds, to counteract and thwart the whole plan of colonization." New
Haven Religious Intelligencer, July, 1831.

30 jay's WORKS.
We perceive from these extracts, that the improvement of the
free blacks is represented by colonizationists as impossible, and
of course it is folly to attempt what is impracticable. The very
attempt, moreover, is calculated to counteract and thwart the
whole plan of colonization, as far as it succeeds. But this is
not all. Some might think the obligations of Christianity
" required us to instruct the ignorant, and to succor the oppressed.
To remove this prejudice, we are assured that even Christianity
cannot help the negro in America ! When before, has the power
of our blessed religion in changing the heart, subduing evil
affections, and removing unholy prejudices, been questioned by
professing Christians ?
The influence of the gospel of Christ, has led thousands and
tens of thousands to offer themselves as willing victims at the
stake or in the amphitheatre — it has prostrated the temples, the
altars, and the gods of paganism — it has triumphed over
ancient and endeared superstitions — it has delivered the Hindoo
from the fetters of caste, and tamed the North American savage;
and yet according to colonizationists, it is utterly impotent,
when brought into collision with the prejudices of American
Christians, towards an unhappy portion of their fellow coun
trymen !
And what unsuccessful experiments justify this depreciation
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. ? When have those who thus
speak of the inefficacy of religion in subduing these sinful pre
judices, tried its power ? When have colonizationists warned
Christians that the negro is created by the same Almighty
Being, descended from the same parent, redeemed by the same
Saviour, and made an heir of the same immortality with them
selves ? When have we been reminded by them of that heart-
searching declaration which will be uttered by the Judge at the
last day, "inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these
my brethren, ye did it not to me ? "
Admitting that the blacks who have gone to Africa have
improved their condition, what is the total amount of good thus
effected? Of the 319,467 free negroes in the United States, 2,122
have in the last eighteen years been sent to Liberia. Supposing

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 31
them to be happy in their new abode, at what a deplorable sac
rifice of the hajipiness of their brethren here, has their own
been purchased ! To raise funds for their transportation, our
churches and halls, in all parts of the United States, have rung
with reproaches and accusations against the free people of color.
Orators, preachers, legislators, have denounced them as nuisances,
vile excrescences on the body politic — ignorant, depraved,
debased, and utterly incapable of improvement and elevation.
The laws oppressing them have been vindicated, and all legis
lation deprecated, that would even encourage the hope of their
permanent improvement.
And is it possible that this general and united effort to prevent
these people from rising, and to render them odious to the com
munity, should have no practical effect on public opinion and
conduct ? Already do we hear their forcible expulsion from the
country, urged in petitions, and advocated in our State Legis
latures. He must be wilfully blind to passing events, who does
not perceive that the persecution of these people is increasing
in extent and malignity. La Fayette remarked in his last visit
with astonishment, the aggravation of the prejudices against the
blacks, and stated that in the revolutionary war, the black and
white soldiers messed together without hesitation.
i In no instance, perhaps, has colonization had so direct and
obvious an influence in augmenting the injuries and oppression
of this unhappy race, as in Connecticut. To that State have
good men long rejoiced to look as to a bright pattern of a
Christian republic. There they beheld political liberty in its
highest perfection, and so divested, by the influence of religion,
of those irregularities of conduct which too often attend it, that
the State was proverbially distinguished as " the land of steady
habits." In no part of the world were the blessings of education
more highly valued, or more generally diffused. The Coloniza
tion Society had there taken a strong hold on the affections of
the people, and had found in Connecticut divines and politicians,
and in the religious periodicals of New Haven, zealous and able
champions. The city of New Haven had been long, alike distinguished

32 jay's works.
for its literary institutions, and for the sobriety and piety of its
inhabitants. It is not, therefore, surprising that some of the
most intelligent and influential of our colored citizens were led
to believe that New Haven would be a proper site for a school
for their children, and that such & school would there find gen
erous patrons. In 1831, a convention was held in Philadelphia,
of delegates from the free colored people in other States, and it
was determined that an effort should be made to raise funds for
" a collegiate school, on the manual labor system." A committee
was appointed to carry the plan into execution. This committee
published in Philadelphia, " An appeal to the benevolent," in
which they stated the necessity of the proposed school, on
account of the difficulty which colored children experienced in
gaining admission into ordinary seminaries, or mechanical estab
lishments ; and that the proposed seminary would be located at
New Haven, and " established on the self-supporting system, so
that the student may cultivate habits of industry, and obtain a
useful mechanical or agricultural profession, while pursuing
classical studies.''
Bishops White and Onderdonk, and the Rev. Doctors Mc-
Auley, Bedell, and Ely, of Philadelphia, gave the committee
written certificates of their approbation of the education of
colored youth. Little, alas, did these gentlemen anticipate the
feeling this effort would excite among the Christians of New
Haven. No sooner had intelligence of the intended school
reached that city, than the mayor summoned a town meeting,
" to take into consideration a scheme, said to be in progress, for
the establishment in this city of a college for the education of
colored youth." The meeting was held on the 8th of September,
1831, and it was " Resolved by the Mayor, Aldermen, Common
Council, and free men of the city of New Haven, in city meeting
assembled, that we will resist the establishment of the proposed
college in this place by every lawful means." This resolution
was preceded by a preamble, stating that "in connection with
this establishment, the immediate abolition of slavery in the
United States is not only recommended and encouraged by the
advocates of the proposed college, but demanded as a rio-ht,"

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 33
and " that the propagation of sentiments, favorable to the imme
diate emancipation of slaves, in disregard of the civil institutions
of the States to which they belong, and as auxiliary thereto, the
contemporaneous founding of colleges for educating colored peo
ple, is an unwarrantable and dangerous interference with the
internal concerns of other States, and ought to be discouraged."
That the education of colored citizens in Connecticut is an
unwarrantable interference with the internal concerns of other
States, and that the friends of the proposed college ever recom
mended the immediate emancipation of slaves in disregard of the
civil institutions of the States to which they belong, are asser
tions which the Mayor, Aldermen, Common Council, and free
men of the city of New Haven prudently permitted to rest on
their own authority, without adducing any other evidence of
their truth.
But surely, the pious and excellent colonizationists of New
Haven, who are so anxious to civilize the natives of Africa,
must have been indignant at this attempt to keep Americans in
ignorance. Alas, in that crowded assembly, there was but one
voice raised against its unholy resolution, and that was the voice
of a decided anti-colonizationist, the Rev. S. S. Jocelyn, while
one of the public advocates of the resolution was the Secretary
of the New Haven Committee of Correspondence of the Amer
ican Colonization Society.
The Colonization party in New Haven could have prevented
this high-handed oppression, but their influence was exerted not
for, but against the improvement and elevation of their colored
brethren. Unhappily for the character of Connecticut, for that of our
common country, and even of Christianity itself, the proceedings
in New Haven were but the commencement of a series of out
rages on justice, humanity, and the rights of freemen.
There are occasions on which it is treason to truth and honor,
if not to religion, to suppress our indignation ; and while . we
shall scrupulously adhere to truth in relating the measures pur
sued in Connecticut, to prevent the education of a certain class
4

34 jay's WORKS.
of colored persons, we shall not shrink from a free expression of
our opinions of those measures, and of their authors.
Miss Crandall, a communicant in the Baptist church, and, as
we believe, a lady of irreproachable character, had for some
time been at the head of a female boarding school, in the town
of Canterbury, Connecticut, when in the autumn of 1832, a
pious colored female applied to her for admission into her school,
stating that she wanted " to get a little more learning — enough,
if possible, to teach colored children." After some hesitation,
Miss Crandall consented to admit her, but was soon informed
that this intruder must be dismissed, or that the shool would be
greatly injured. This threat turned her attention to the cruel
prejudices and disadvantages under which the blacks are suffer
ing, and she resolved to open a shool exclusively for colored girls.
It has been thought expedient to doubt the philanthropy of this
resolution, and to attribute it to pecuniary motives. Whatever
may have been her motives, and pecuniary ones would not have
been unlawful, she had a perfect rights to open a school for pupils
of any color whatever ; and had not the moral sense of the com
munity been perverted, this attempt to instruct the poor, the
friendless, and the ignorant, would have met with applause
instead of contumely. She discontinued her school, and in Feb
ruary, 1833, gave public notice of her intention to open one for
colored girls. This notice excited prodigious commotion in the
town of Canterbury. That black girls should presume to learn
reading, and writing, and music, and geography, was past all
bearing. Committee after committee waited on Miss Crandall,
to remonstrate against the intended school, but to no purpose.
More efficient means were found necessary to avert the impend
ing calamity, and a legal town meeting was summoned to con
sider the awful crisis. At this meeting resolutions were passed,
expressing the strongest disapprobation of the proposed school,
and the preamble declared that " the obvious tendency of this
school would be to collect within the town of Canterbury, large
numbers of persons from other States, whose characters and
habits might be various and unknown to us, thereby rendering
insecure the persons, property, and reputations of our citizens."

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 35
Had this extreme nervous apprehension of .danger been excited
in the good people of Canterbury by the introduction of some
hundreds of Irish laborers into their village to construct a rail
road or canal, we should still have thought their temperament
very peculiar ; but when we find them thus affecting to tremble,
not merely for their property, but for their persons and reputa
tions, at the approach of fifteen or twenty " young ladies and
little misses of color," we confess we are astonished that the
collected wisdom of these people was not able to frame an argu
ment against the school, less disgraceful to themselves.
Andrew T. Judson, Esq., acted as clerk to this meeting, and
supported the resolutions in a speech, in which he is reported to
have said, " that should the school go into operation, their sons
and daughters would be forever ruined, and property no longer
safe." For his part, he was not willing, for the honor and wel
fare of the town, that even one corner of it should be appropri
ated to such a purpose. After the example which New Haven
had set, he continued, " shall it be said that we cannot, that we
dare not resist ? " Mr. Judson further stated, that they had
" A law which should prevent that school from going into oper
ation." The resolutions of the town meeting, as became so grave a
matter, were communicated to Miss Crandall by the " civil
authority and selectmen," but strange as it may seem, that lady
stood less in dread of them, than they did of the " young ladies
of color," for she refused to retreat from the ground she had
taken. The example of New Haven, we have seen, was held up to
the people of Canterbury by Mr. Judson, for their encourage
ment, and as an earnest of their ultimate success. Still the
cases were not exactly similar. " The civil authority and select
men " of Canterbury, had not the imposing array of power and
influence displayed by " the Maf'or, Aldermen, Common Council,
and free men of the city of New Haven." The latter, by the
mere expression of their opinion, had prevented the establish
ment of a college for colored youth ; the former were set at
naught by an unprotected female. Some means more efficacious

36 JAYS' WORKS.
than the fulminations of a town meeting were, therefore, next to
be tried. Mr. Judson had indeed a certain law in reserve, but
it was necessary that certain influences should .be previously
brought into action, before a civilized and Christian people could
be induced to tolerate the application of that law. Colonization,
as already remarked, had taken a deep hold on the affections of
the people of Connecticut. Then- most eminent men had
enrolled themselves in the ranks of the Society. To this pow
erful association recourse was now had. On the 22d of March,
1833, the "civil authority and selectmen" of Canterbury made
their "appeal to the American Colonization Society."
In this most extraordinary paper, they expatiate on the benevo
lence of the Society towards the colored population, and deplore
the opposition it encounters from certain individuals who have
formed " the Anti-Slavery Society." These men, they assert,
wish to admit the blacks " into the bosom of our society," and
would "justify intermarriages with the white people." They
then recite their own grievances, detail the proceedings of their
town meeting, dwell on Miss Crandall's pertinacity in pursuing
her own plans, express their horror of abolition principles, and
state that Mr. Garrison had said that the excitement in Canter
bury " is one of the genuine flowers of the colonization garden ;"
and they add, " Be it so ; we appeal to the American Coloniza
tion Society, to which our statement is addressed — we appeal to
every philanthropist, and to every Christian ! " Mr. Judson's
name appears at the head of the signers to the appeal.
Had Miss Crandall appealed to the Society in behalf of her
school, she would probably, and very properly, have been told
that the subject of her school was not embraced in the constitu
tional objects of the Society ; and may we not ask, if the Society
has no right to encourage, has it any right to discourage the
establishment of schools of any description whatever ? In the
singleness of its object it has often been compared to the Bible
Society ; what would have been thought of such an appeal to the
American Bible Society? How the appeal was answered we
shall presently see.
Having thus identified their cause with that of the Coloniza-

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 37
tion Society, and secured the sympathy of its numerous and
powerful friends in Connecticut, Mr. Judson and his associates
proceeded to further operations. Foiled in their attempts to
persuade or intimidate, they now resolved on coercion. On the
1st of April, another town meeting was convened, at which it
was " Voted that a petition in behalf of the town of Canterbury,
to the next General Assembly, be drawn up, in suitable lan
guage, deprecating the evil consequences of bringing from other
towns and other States people of color for any purpose, and more
especially for the purpose of disseminating the principles and
doctrines opposed to the benevolent colonization system,
praying said Assembly to pass and enact such laws as in their
wisdom will prevent the evil." Mr. Judson, with others, was
apppointed a committee to prepare the petition, and to request
other towns to forward similar petitions. The malignity of this
vote is equalled only by its absurdity. The desired law is to
prevent the evil of blacks passing not only from other States,
but other towns. Every black citizen of Connecticut is to be
imprisoned in the town in which the law happens to find him,
and he may not travel into the adjoining town for " any pur
pose," and all this especially to prevent interference with " the
benevolent colonization system."
Did the Colonization Society protest against such an outrage
being committed in its behalf? did it indignantly disclaim all
connection, all sympathy with men who in its name were striv
ing to perpetuate such abominable tyranny ? It is not known,
that in any way whatever, it has ever expressed its disapproba
tion of these proceedings. Certain it is, that the effect of the
" appeal," and of this vote, was not such as to induce the Can
terbury gentlemen to falter in their career ; we have seen that
Mr. Judson had a law, which was to arrest the school. When
the " appeal " had been before the public just one month, the
selectmen resolved to avail themselves of this law.
Among the pupils of Miss Crandall, was a colored girl about
seventeen years of age, who had come from Rhode Island to
enjoy the advantages of the school. The pursuit of knowledge
under discouraging difficulties has rarely failed to excite ap-
4*

38 jay's works.
plause ; and the virtuous struggles of the poor and obscure to
improve and elevate themselves, claim the sympathy of Chris
tian benevolence. In the present instance we behold a youthful
female, of a despised and depressed race, attempting to emerge
from the ignorance and degradation into which she had been cast
by birth ; and abandoning her home and friends, and travelling
to another State, applying for instruction to the only seminary
in the whole country open to receive her. And now let us see
what sympathy this poor and defenceless, but innocent and
praiseworthy girl, experienced from the admirers of " the benev
olent colonization system." On the day after her arrival, she
was ordered by the selectmen to leave the town. This order,
as illegal as it was inhumane, was disregarded ; and on the 22d
of April, Mr. Judson and his fellow functionaries instituted, on
behalf of the town, a suit against her under an old vagrant act
of Connecticut, and a writ was jssued to the sheriff, to require
her appearance before a Justice of the Peace. The writ recited,
that according to the statute, she had forfeited to the town $1.62
for each day she had remained in it, since she was ordered to
depart ; and that in default of payment, she was to be whipped
ON THE NAKED BODY NOT EXCEEDING TEN STRIPES, unless
she departed within ten days after conviction. The barbarous
and obsolete law under which tins' suit was brought, was intended
to protect towns from the intrusion of paupers who might become
chargeable. The friends of the school had offered to give the
selectmen bonds to any amount, to secure the town from all cost
on account of the pupils ; and of course this suit was a wicked
perversion of the law, and the plaintiffs ought to have been
indicted for a malicious prosecution under color of office. With
equal propriety might the civil authority of New Haven warn a
student in Yale College, from New York, to leave the city, and
on his refusal, order him to be whipped on the naked body as a
vagrant pauper.
About the time of the return of this writ, the Legislature of
Connecticut assembled, and so successfully had the Canterbury
persecution been identified with colonization, that a law was
passed to suppress the school, and all others of a similar char-

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 39
acter. Its preamble declared that " attempts have been made
to establish literary institutions in this State, for the instruction
of colored persons belonging to other States and countries, which
would tend to the great increase of the colored population of this
State, and thereby to the injury of the people." The act
provides, that every person who shall set up, or establish any
school, academy, or literary institution, for the instruction or
education of colored persons who are not inhabitants of Connec
ticut ; or who shall teach in such school, or who shall board any
colored pupil of such school, 'not an inhabitant of the State, shall
forfeit one hundred dollars for the first offence, two hundred
dollars for the second, and so on, doubling for each succeeding
offence, unless the consent of the civil authority and selectmen
of the town, be previously obtained.
Mr. Judson's late attempt to enforce the whipping law, re
minded the Legislature of the propriety of abolishing that relic
of barbarism, and it was accordingly repealed, and thus were the
backs of Miss Crandall's pupils saved from the threatened
laceration. It is painful and mortifying to reflect on the law obtained by
Mr. Judson and his associates, for the suppression of the school,
and which has very generally received the title of " the Connec
ticut Black Act." It is an act alien to the habits, the character,
the religion of Connecticut. It is an act which neither policy
nor duty can vindicate. It is an act which will afford its authors
no consolation in the prospect of their final account, and which
their children will blush to remember.
It is not surprising that a Connecticut Legislature, about to
pass a law for the discouragement of learning, should wish for
an excuse ; nor that they should find themselves constrained to
invent one. Miss Crandall had fifteen or twenty girls in her
school, and it does not appear that the Legislature had ascer
tained how many of them had come from other States, nor that
they had inquired into the amount of injury sustained by the
citizens of Canterbury, in their " persons, property, and reputa
tions," from these " misses of color ; " and yet they unhesita
tingly assert, that the " increase " of the colored population in

40 jay's works.
the State, occasioned by such schools, would be "great;" and
that such increase would tend to the " injury of the people."
To test the truth of these two assertions, let it be recollected,
first, that no evidence existed that any other seminary for
blacks was at this time contemplated in Connecticut ; and that
the free colored people are, as a class, sunk in abject poverty,
and that very few of them have the means of sending their
children from other States into Connecticut, and there maintain
ing them at school ; and, secondly, that no portion of this popu
lation would be so little likely to occasion "injury to the
people," as those who were placed at a religious school, and
instructed in morals and literature. As to the sincerity of the
apprehensions felt by the Legislature, let it be further recol
lected, that the law is intended to prevent the ingress of such
blacks only, as might come for the honorable and virtuous pur
pose of education, while not the slightest impediment is opposed
to the introduction of cooks, waiters, scullions, shoeblacks, &c,
in any number. The lest are excluded, the worst freely ad
mitted. We have seen that colonizationists regard all attempts to
elevate the free blacks, as an interference with their system,
and the Black Act is admirably calculated to prevent such
attempts. Connecticut closes her schools to blacks from New
York and elsewhere. If this is right, — and what State more
rehgious than Connecticut ? — other States may be expected to
follow her example. Hence no seminary, in any one State, for
the instruction of the blacks, can be founded by their joint
contributions ; from the academies, boarding schools, and col
leges of the whites, they are already excluded ; of course, they
are — doomed to perpetual ignorance. Let each State, it is said,
instruct its own youth. It is well for Yale College that this
doctrine is applied only to black aspirants for knowledge.
In 1828, an African Mission School was established° at Hart
ford, for the purpose of educating colored youth, "to be selected
from our numerous African population," and, of course, from
other States besides Connecticut. It was under the patron
age of the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 41
United States. No outcry was excited against this school ; no
citizen of Hartford trembled for his property, person, or repu
tation. Why not? Because the school was auxiliary to colo
nization, and those instructed in it were to be sent out of the
country. No sooner was the passage of the Black Act known in Can
terbury, than this triumph over justice, humanity, and constitu
tional liberty, was celebrated by a feu de joie, and the ringing
of bells. Nor was the act permitted to remain a dead letter.
Miss Crandall was prosecuted under it, and being unable to
procure bail, was committed to prison. The next day bail was
obtained, and she returned to her school. Well, indeed, might
the public press, with some memorable exceptions, execrate the
Black Act ; and well, indeed, might Mr. Judson feel impatient,
under the obloquy that was falling upon him, as the chief in
stigator and manager of the prosecution. " A friend in need,
is a friend indeed." And now was the time when he needed and
received that countenance, for which he had appealed to the
Colonization Society. It was not probably expected that the
managers of the parent Society would officially notice the appeal,
but a mode was devised, on the part of Connecticut coloniza
tionists, of publicly expressing their approbation of Mr. Judson's
conduct. On the anniversary of the declaration that " all men
are created equal," and a few days after Miss Crandall's impris
onment, the Windham County* Colonization Society convened,
and appointed Mr. Judson their orator and agent, thus proclaim
ing that he was the man they delighted to honor. Another
response to the appeal was in a few days heard from New
York. The chairman of the executive committee of the New
York City Colonization Society, is the editor of the New York
Commercial Advertiser, and its columns were loaded with crim
inations of Miss Crandall, and vindications of the Black Act.
" The inhabitants of Canterbury " were declared to be " as
quiet, peaceable, humane, and inoffensive people, as can be
named in the United States." The constitutionality of the
* The County in which Canterbury is situated.

42 jay's works.
Black Act was broadly maintained, and it was averred to be^ " just
such a law in its spirit, if not in its provisions, as we are in the
constant practice of enforcing in this city, to prevent our char
itable institutions from being rilled to overflowing with black
paupers from the South, and white paupers from Europe." Of
the gentleman who drafted the Black Act, the public were as
sured, " a warmer heart than his throbs in few bosoms, and the
African race has no firmer friend than him."*
On the 23d of August, Miss Crandall was brought to trial.
The crime with which she was charged, was fully proved. One
of the witnesses testified : " The school is usually opened and
closed with prayer ; the Scriptures are read and explained in
the school daily ; portions are committed to memory by the
pupils, and considered part of their education."
The orator and agent of the Windham Colonization Society,
opened the case on the part of the prosecution, and to this gen
tleman, it is believed, belongs the distinction of having been the
first man in New England to propound publicly the doctrine,
that free colored persons are not citizens. This doctrine was
essential to the validity of the Black Act, since by the federal
Constitution, citizens of one State are entitled to all the privi
leges of citizenship in every other State ; and the Act prohib
ited colored persons from other States from going to school in
Connecticut, a prohibition palpably unconstitutional, if free
blacks are citizens. The presiding judge submitted the cause
to the jury without comment ; and some of them having scru
ples about Mr. Judson's new doctrine, refused to agree in a ver
dict of guilty, and a new trial was consequently ordered. In
the ensuing October, Miss Crandall was again placed at the bar,
while the vice president of the New Haven Colonization Soci
ety, Judge Daggett, took his seat on the bench. The cause
against the defendant was again argued by the Windham Colo
nization orator and agent ; and Judge Daggett, warned by the
result of the preceding trial, of the necessity of enlightening the
consciences of the jury, delivered an elaborate charge. Rarely
Commercial Advertiser, July 16 and 29, 1833.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 43
has any judge enjoyed such an opportunity of defending the
poor and fatherless, of doing justice to the afflicted and needy,
of delivering the spoiled out' of the hand of the oppressor. The
merits of the cause turned on the simple question whether free
blacks are citizens or not. We might have presumed that a
judge, aware of his solemn responsibility, would have prepared
himself for the decision of this momentous question, by the
most patient and thorough research. On the opinion he might
pronounce, would perhaps rest the future education, comfort,
freedom, and not unlikely, everlasting happiness of multitudes
of his fellow-men. Under such circumstances, the public had
a right to expect that he would resort to every source of
information ; that he would consult the opinions of eminent
statesmen and jurists ; investigate the constitutional history of
the rights of these people ; study the proceedings of Congress in
relation to them, and bring together such a mass of facts, such
an array of arguments, as would prove that his decision, what
ever it might be, was the result of conscientious inquiry, and
that the bench was elevated far above the prejudices and pas
sions, which had brought to the bar an innocent and benevolent
female. The judge, in his charge, expresses himself in the following
words : * " Are the free people of color citizens ? I answer,
No." The grounds on which this answer is given, appear to be
the following :
1st. " They are not so styled in the Constitution of the United
States. In that clause of the Constitution which fixes the basis of rep
resentation, there was an opportunity to have called them citizens, if
they were so considered. But that makes free persons (adding three-
fifths of all other persons) the basis of representation and taxation." v
The words of the Constitution referred to by the Judge, are,
(Art. 1. Sec. 3,) " Representatives and direct taxes shall be ap
portioned among the several States which may be included
within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which
shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free per-
* We quote from a newspaper report of the charge, and have no knowledge
that the accuracy of the report has ever been denied.

44 jay's WORKS.
sons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.'
Now, it seems, free colored persons cannot be citizens, be
cause they are not in this section so called ; but unfortunately
free white persons are not called citizens, and they also must
therefore be disfranchised ! Apprentices (" those bound to ser
vice for a term of years,") are likewise included among free
persons, and they also cannot be citizens !
Had free white persons been spoken of as citizens, and free
black persons only as " persons," then indeed there would have
been some force in the judge's first reason ; but as there is not
the sUghtest reference in the Constitution to the complexion of
the " free persons," we cannot understand the argument, and
proceed, therefore, to his
2d reason. " They (free negroes) are not so styled, (citizens,) so
far as I am aware, in the laws of Congress, or of any of the States."
It would thus seem that men with black skins cannot be citi
zens, unless the laws expressly declare them to be so. So far
as we are aware, men with red hair are not styled citizens in
the laws of Congress, or of any of the States.
3d reason. " His Honor then read from Kent's Commentary, Vol.
H, p. 210, a note in which the commentator speaks of the degraded
condition of the blacks, and the disabilities under which they labor,
and thence inferred that, in Kent's opinion, they were not citizens."
Had the judge found it convenient to consult the text of this
learned and independent jurist, the following passage would
have saved him the trouble of drawing an inference.
" The article in the Constitution of the United States, declaring
that citizens of each State were entitled to all the privileges and im
munities of citizens in the several States, applies to natural born or
duly naturalized citizens, and if they remove from one State to another,
they are entitled to the privileges that persons of the same description
are entitled to in the State to which the removal is made, and to none
other. If, therefore, for instance, free persons of color are not enti
tled to vote in Carolina, free persons of color cmurratine there from a
Northern Ibtate would not be entitled to vote."
Here is an express admission of the citizenship of free col
ored persons, and their case is cited to illustrate the rights of

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 45
citizens under the federal Constitution. If a free black, accord
ing to the commentary, moving from one State to another, is,
under the federal Constitution, entitled only to such privileges
as the free blacks in the latter State enjoy, it follows irresistibly
that he is entitled to such privileges as the free blacks do there
enjoy. Now, the free blacks of Connecticut enjoy a legal right
to go to school, and to any school that will receive them ; hence,
according to Chancellor Kent, a free black removing from
another State into Connecticut, has the same right, and hence
the Black Act is plainly and palpably unconstitutional.
4th. " Another reason for believing that people of color are not
considered citizens, is found in the fact, that when the United States
Constitution was adopted, every State except Massachusetts tolerated
slavery." Why a free black man cannot be a citizen, because another
black man is a slave, is a problem we confess ourselves unable
to solve.Such are the arguments, and the only ones adduced by the
judge, to support his portentous decision ; a decision which
tends to strip the free negro of his property and rights ; renders
him an alien in the land of his birth ; exposes him to contumely
and oppression, and prepares the" way for his forcible deportation
to the shores of Africa.
In order to do full justice to Judge Daggett, it may be proper
to notice his answers to objections, since these answers may,
perhaps, be regarded as negative arguments. To the assertion,
that free blacks own vessels which participate in the peculiar
privileges of American shipping, and that they sue in the United
States courts, he simply replied, that these claims have never
been settled by judicial decisions. To the argument that free
blacks may be guilty of high treason, he replied, " So may any
person who resides under the government, and enjoys its pro
tection, if he rises up against it."
Having thus fairly stated the judge's arguments, we will now
take the liberty of presenting a few facts having an important
bearing on this question ; facts, be it remembered, that were

46 jay's works.
accessible to the Judge, had he thought it worth while to look
for them.
By the fourth of the " Articles of Confederation, ' it was pro
vided, that " the free inhabitants of these States shall be entitled
to all the privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several
States." While these articles were under consideration in
Congress, it appears from the journals, that on the 25th of June,
1778, "the delegates from South Carolina moved the follow
ing amendment in behalf of their State: — 'In Article Fourth,
between the words free inhabitants, insert white.' Passed in
the negative — Ayes, 2 States, Nays 8 States — 1 State di
vided." Here then was a solemn decision of the Revolutionary
Congress, that free negroes should be entitled to all the privileges
and immunities of free citizens in the several States. Judge
Daggett thinks that the Constitution of the United States did
not regard free blacks as citizens, because in 1788 all the States,
with one exception, tolerated slavery ; yet, in 1778, Congress
decided that free blacks were citizens, although all the States,
without one exception, tolerated slavery. Ten years after this
decision, the new Constitution was formed, and the clause re
specting citizenship in the several States was transferred to it
from the Articles of Confederation, with slight verbal alterations.
That the clause embraced free negroes at the time it was trans
ferred, was settled by the vote we have quoted ; no words were
added to exclude them ; no intimation was given that the new
Constitution was disfranchising thousands, and tens of thousands,
who Congress had declared were invested with all the rights and
immunities of free citizens. No desire was expressed to dis
franchise these people, and in the debates on the Constitution,
this disfranchisement was never alluded to either in the lan
guage of praise or of censure ; and for more than forty years
after the adoption of the Constitution, no suspicion existed that
it had divested the free blacks of the citizenship they enjoyed
under the Confederation, till the discovery was made by the
agent and orator of the Windham Colonization Society, and,
juridically announced by the Vice President of the New Haven
Colonization Society.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 47
Judge Daggett " is not aware that free blacks are styled citizens
in the laws of Congress or of any of the States ! " How laborious
has been his search for such laws, we shall now see. Probably
the judge will admit that when the law speaks of male citizens,
they recognize the existence oi female citizens ; and most judges
would admit, that where the law speaks of white citizens, they
recognize the existence of citizens who are not white.
The act of Congress of 1792, for organizing the militia, pro
vides for the enrolment of " free white male citizens."
The act of Congress of 1803, "to prevent the importation of
certain persons into certain States, when by the laws thereof
their admission is prohibited," enacts that masters and captains
of vessels shall not " import or bring, or cause to be imported or
brought, any negro, mulatto, or other person of color, not being a
native, a citizen, or registered seaman of the United States,"
&c. The constitution of Judge Daggett's own State, limits the
right of suffrage to " free white male citizens." Why male
citizens, if there are no female citizens ? and why white citizens,
if there can be no colored ones ? Seven or eight State constitu
tions, in the same manner, recognize the existence of colored
citizens. Had the judge extended his inquiries into State
laws, to those of Massachusetts, he would have found one pro
hibiting any negro "other than a CITIZEN of the United
States," or a subject of the Emperor of Morocco, from tarrying
in the Commonwealth longer than two months. Had he taken
the trouble to consult the statute book of New York, he would
have found the following clause in the act relative to elections,
viz. : " If the person so offering to vote be a colored man, the
following oath shall be tendered to him : ' You do swear (or
affirm) that you are of the age of twenty-one years, that for
three years you have been a CITIZEN of this State,' " &c.
Revised Statutes, I, 134. _
Had the judge condescended to look into the debates of the
New York Convention of 1821, on the question of admitting the
free blacks to the right of suffrage, he would have discovered to
his astonishment, that the New York lawyers and judges had no

48 jay's works.
hesitation in admitting these people to be citizens, whatever
might be their objections to permitting them to vote. He would
have found ChanceUor Kent earnestly contending for their
rights to citizenship in other States under the federal Constitu
tion. He would have found Rufus King, (no mean authority,)
concluding an argument in their behalf, with these words : "As
certainly as the children of any white man are citizens, so
certainly the children of the black man are citizens."
Had the judge opened the constitution of the State of New
York, he would have met with a clause in the article respecting
the elective franchise, declaring, " No man of color, unless he
shall have been three years a CITIZEN of this State," &c.
On the 4th of September, 1826, Governor Clinton, of New
York, addressed a letter to the President of the United States,
demanding the immediate liberation of Gilbert Horton, a colored
man, as " A CITIZEN of this State," he having been impris
oned in Washington as a fugitive slave.
In every State in the Union, we believe, without one exception
a native free born negro may legally take, hold, and convey
real estate. Will Judge Daggett deny this to be an attribute of
citizenship ? * Will he maintain that any but citizens may
exercise the right of suffrage ? But in eight or ten States, free
negroes may legally vote. True it is, that in others, this privilege
is denied to them, but it is not true that none are citizens who
cannot vote. The act of Congress respecting naturalization,
provides, that in a certain case, the widow and children of a
deceased alien " shall be citizens of the United States."
Impressed colored sailors have been claimed by the national
government, as " citizens of the United States ; " and colored
men going to Europe, have received passports from the depart
ment of State, certifying that they were citizens of the United
States. The proposed constitution of the new State of Missouri re-

^ \ es, '? "i the Clty of New York t0 the Talue of fifty thousand dollars
was lately devised to a free colored man in that city, but according to the
judge, he is not a citizen, and of course cannot take by devise If so. the
property must go to the heir at law, or escheat to the State

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 49
quired the Legislature to pass such laws as might be necessary
" to prevent free negroes and mulattoes from coming to settle in
the State, under any pretext whatever." The Legislature of
New York, in reference to this provision, on the 15th November,
1820, " Resolved, if the provisions contained in any proposed
constitution of a new State deny to any citizens of the existing
States the privileges and immunities of citizens of such new
State, that such proposed constitution should not be accepted or
confirmed, the same, in the opinion of this Legislature, being
void by the Constitution of the United States." This resolution
was adopted in high party times, by an almost unanimous
vote. The constitution being submitted to Congress, the article
excluding colored citizens, was deemed by the House of Repre
sentatives a violation of the national compact, and that body
refused to receive Missouri into the Union. A compromise was
at last agreed to, and Congress admitted Missouri on the express
condition that the offensive clause in her constitution should
never authorize any law by which any citizen of any of the
States should be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the
privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled by the
Constitution of the United States ; and that the Legislature of
Missouri should by a solemn act declare their assent to this
condition. The Legislature passed the act required, and there
upon the State became a member of the Union. Yet Judge
Daggett is not aware of any act of Congress recognizing free
blacks as citizens !
Admit free negroes to be men, and to be born free in the
United States, and it is impossible to frame even a plausible
argument against their citizenship. The only argument on this
point we have ever met with, in which the conclusion is legiti
mately deduced from the premises, is by a late writer,* who
maintains that the negroes are a distinct race of animals. Now
it must be conceded, that the negro, if not a human being, is not
*The author of "Evidences against the Views of the Abolitionists, con
sisting of physical and moral proofs of the natural inferiority of the
negroes." New York, 1833.
6*

50 jay's works.
a citizen. We recommend the following reasoning to the future
judicial apologists of the Black Act.
" His (the negro's) lips are thick, Hs zygomatic muscles large and full,
Us jaws large and projecting, his cUn retreating, his forehead low, flat,
and slanting, and as a consequence of tUs latter character, his eyeballs
are very prominent, apparently larger than those of the white men;
all of these peculiarities at the same time contributing to reduce his
facial angle almost to a level with the brute. If then it is consistent
with science to believe that the mind will be greater in proportion to
the size and figure of the brain, it is equally reasonable to suppose that
the acknowledged meanness of the negro's intellect only coincides with
the shape of his head; or in other words, that his want of capability
to receive a complicated education, renders it improper and impolitic
that he should be allowed the privileges of citizenship in an enlight
ened country." P. 25, 26.
The author is an ultra colonizationist, and the conclusion to
which he arrives is, " let the blacks be removed, nolens vokns,
from among us."
We have dwelt the longer on the Connecticut decision, on
account of its immense importance to a numerous class of our
fellow countrymen. The victims of a cruel prejudice, and of
wicked laws, they especially claimed the aid and sympathy of
the humane, when striving to elevate themselves by the acqui
sition of useful knowledge. But Judge Daggett's doctrine
crushes them to the earth. Denounced by a powerful society,
extending its influence over every part of our country, as
" nuisances," and judicially declared not to be citizens, they
are delivered over to the tormentors, bound hand and foot. If
not citizens, they may be dispossessed of their dwellings, for
they cannot legally hold real estate — they maybe denied the
means of a livelihood, and forbidden to buy and sell, or to prac
tise any trade, for they are no longer protected by the Constitu
tion of the United States. Nay, they may be expelled from
town to town, and from State to State, till finding no resting
place for the soles of their feet, they " consent " to embark for
Africa. However inconclusive we are disposed to regard Judge Dag
gett's arguments, they were satisfactory to the jury, and a verdict
was given against Miss Crandall. The cause was removed to

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 51
the Connecticut Court of Errors, where all the proceedings were
set aside on technical grounds. Certain of the " quiet, peaceable,
humane, and inoffensive people of Canterbury," tired with the
law's delay, determined on ejecting the school by a summary
process, and accordingly mobbed the house by night, and smashed
in the windows. It was now discovered, that it was the " per
sons " of inoffensive females, and not of Mr. Judson and his
associates, that were endangered, and the school was abandoned ;
thus, were the efforts of the admirers of " the benevolent sys
tem of colonization " crowned with entire success.
Soon after Judge Daggett's decision, a most inflammatory
petition to the Connecticut Legislature, was circulated in New
Haven. We quote from a printed copy.
" If they (the negroes) have rights, we humbly hope it is not yet
too late to presume that the white man also, the only legal native Amer
ican citizen whom we shall ever consent to acknowledge, may be per
mitted to suggest that he has some rights. If he (the white man)
purchases a piece of land, the negro who locates near him, deteriorates
its value from 20 to 5Q per cent. ; for who will have a negro neighbor
hood, or live in unceasing fear of theft and trespass ? The white man
cannot labor upon equal terms with the negro ; he is compelled to yield
the market to the African, and with his family ultimately becomes the
tenant of an alms-house, or is driven from the State to seek a better
lot in the western wilds. Thus have thousands of our most val
uable citizens been banished from home and kindred, for the accommo
dation of the most debased race that the civilized world has ever seen.".
The petitioners, as might be supposed, are colonizationists.
"If the negro cannot consistently with our interest or our feel
ings be admitted to the same rights that we enjoy, let him seek
a country where he will find those who are his equals ; let us
unite in aiding him to reach that country."
It has never been denied that good men belong to the Coloniza
tion Society ; and it ought not to be denied that even good men
are fallible, and subject to erroneous opinions and unwarrantable
prejudices. To us it appears unquestionable, that the facts
developed in the preceding pages, prove a tendency in the Soci
ety to excite in the community, a persecuting spirit towards the
free blacks. That the pious, and respectable members of the
Society, detest the horrible outrages recently committed upon

52 jay's WORKS.
these people in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, it would
be both foolish and wicked to doubt ; and yet no one who can-
didly and patiently investigates the whole subject, can fail to
be convinced that these outrages never would have happened,
had the Society never existed. The assertion is not hazardous,
that of the multitudes composing the negro mobs, there was not
an individual less disposed than the Canterbury town meeting,
to laud the " benevolent colonization system." Every wretch
who participated in beating and plundering free negroes, would
rejoice in their expulsion from their country, and in the Society
he beholds an instrument for the accomplishment of his wishes.
But how is it possible that the best and the worst of men can
unite in supporting the same institution? In the first place,
these good men, as is abundantly evident from their own confes
sions, are actuated by motives of supposed public policy, as well
as benevolence, in promoting the colonization of people whom
they regard as nuisances ; and in the second place, there are in
the constitution, three talismanic words, which through the influ
ence of existing prejudices have blinded the eyes of these good
men to the practical operation of the Society on the colored
people. The words are "with their consent." It is spe
ciously argued, if the free blacks consent to go to Africa, why not
send them ? if they do not wish to go, they are at hberty to
remain. This argument seems for the most part to have
benumbed the consciences and understandings of coloniza
tionists, as to the cruel persecution which their Society necessa
rily encourages. They would be horrified at the idea of their
agents scouring the country, and seizing men, women and child
ren, placing them on the rack, till as joint after joint was dislo
cated, the suffering wretches consented to go to Africa ; and yet
the Society feels no compunction in countenancing legal oppres
sion having the same ultimate object in view, and in transporting
negroes whose consent they well know has been extorted by the
most abominable persecution. Many will feel disposed to deny
the truth of these assertions ; but not, we trust, after seeing the
proof of them, which we will now proceed to offer.
We have already adverted to the cruel laws by which these

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 53
people are oppressed, and kept, purposely kept, in ignorance
and degradation. Now let it be recollected, that with but few
exceptions, these laws have been' either enacted, or are kept in
force by legislatures which have formally and in their legisla
tive capacity, passed resolutions in favor of the Society. Four
teen States have thus avowed their attachment to colonization.
Now had these States, including Connecticut, Ohio, and several
of the slave States, repealed their laws against the free blacks,
and forborne to enact new ones, their sincerity in approving a
plan for the removal of these people with their consent would
have been less questionable than it is now, when they persist in
a course of policy well calculated to coerce that consent. The
Society appears to be a particular favorite with the slave States,
with the exception of South Carolina, where its true character
seems to have been misunderstood.
Now hear the acknowledgment of a Southern writer. We
have before us the fourth edition, 1834, of " A Treatise on the
Patriarchal System of .Society : " by a Florida slave-holder. It
is a treatise, in sober earnestness, on the means of perpetuating
slavery, and increasing its profits. The author says, p. 12 —
" Colonization in Africa has been proposed to the free colored
people : to forward which, a general system of persecution
against them, upheld from the pulpit, has been legalized through
out the Southern States." The writer does not explain his al
lusion to the Southern pulpit ; but we may judge of its influence
on the condition of the free blacks, from the avowal already
quoted from the Southern Religious Telegraph, of its repug
nance to these people being taught to read, because such an ac
quirement would be an inducement with them to remain in this
country ; or, in other words, that the better they were treated
here, the less likely would they be to consent to go to Africa.
The Legislatures of Maryland and Virginia, it is well known,
have made large appropriations for colonization, and yet these
Legislatures are among the most malignant persecutors of the
free blacks. The original bill making the Virginia appropria
tion, contained a clause for the compulsory transportation of free
blacks. Let it be recollected that the Colonization Society has

54 jay's WORKS.
ever been the peculiar favorite of Virginia, and that her most
distinguished citizens have been enrolled among its officers ; and
let us now see how colonization has been promoted in that State.
On a motion to strike out the compulsory clause, Mr. Brodnax
thus expressed himself against the motion :
It is idle to talk about not resorting to force. Every
body must look to the introduction of force of some kind or other. ]{
the free negroes are willing to go, they will go ; if not willing, they
must be compelled to go. Some gentlemen think it politic not
now to insert this feature in the bill, though they proclaim their readi
ness to resort to it when it becomes necessary ; they think, that for a
year or two, a sufficient number will consent to go, and then the
rest can be compelled. For my part, I deem it better to ap
proach the question and settle it at once, and avow it openly. The
intelligent portion of the free negroes know very well what is going on.
Will they not see your debates ? Will they not see that coercion is
ultimately to be resorted to ? I have already expressed it as
my opinion, that few, very few, will voluntarily consent to emigrate, if
no compulsory measures be adopted. Without it, you will still, no
doubt, have applicants for removal equal to your means. Yes, sir,
people who will not only consent, but beg you to deport them. But
what sort of consent ? — a consent extorted by a species of oppression,
calculated to render their situation among us insupportable ! Many of
those who have been already sent off, went with their avowed consent,
but under the influence of a more decided compulsion than any which
this bill holds out. I will not express in its fullest extent, the idea I
entertain of what has been done, or what enormities will be perpetrated
to induce this class of persons to leave the State. Who does not know
that when a free negro, by crime or otherwise, has rendered himself
obnoxious to a neighborhood, how easy it is for a party to visit him one
night, take him from his bed and family, and apply to him the gentle
admonition of a severe flagellation, to induce him to go away ? In a few
nights the dose can be repeated, perhaps increased, until, in the lan
guage of the physicians, quantum suff. has been administered to pro
duce the desired operation, and the fellow becomes perfectly willing
to move away. I have certainly heard, (if incorrectly, the gentle
man from Southampton will put me right,) that all the large cargo of
emigrants, lately transported from that country to Liberia, all of whom
professed to be willing to go, were rendered so by some such ministration
as I have described. Indeed, sir, all of us look to force of some kind
or other, direct or indirect, moral or physical, legal or illegal."
Another member, Mr. Fisher, in opposing the motion, said:
'.' ^ w.? yait $°- tlie free negroes consent to leave the State, we shall
wait until time is no more. They never will give their consent. He
believed if the compulsory principle were stricken out, this class would
be forced to leave by the harsh treatment of the whites."

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 55
The compulsory clause was stricken out, but we have the as
surance of Mr. Brodnax, that they who objected to it at present,
were ready to resort to force whenever it should become neces
sary ; and he tells us, that all look to force of some kind or
other ; and he might have added, " all of us look to the Coloni
zation Society as the instrument by which the forcible expulsion
of the free negroes is to be effected." Nor do they look in vain.
At the very time that the negroes of Southampton were suffer
ing the barbarities he describes, the managers of the Society
addressed their auxiliaries, urging them to increased efforts in
raising funds, and, alluding to the excitement occasioned by the
insurrection at Southampton, remarked, "the free people of
color have awakened from their slumber, to a keen sense of their
situation, and are ready in large numbers to emigrate to the
Colony of Liberia." Address, 11th Nov. 1831.
A large number of these miserable people did indeed consent
to go to Africa, and the managers well knew how their consent
was obtained. " I warned the managers against this Virginia
business," said Mr. Breckenridge in his speech before the Soci
ety, " and yet they sent out two shiploads of vagabonds, not fit
to go to such a place, and that were coerced away as truly as if
it had been done with a cartwhip."
Hear the confession of Mr. Gurley, the Secretary of the So
ciety, on this subject :
" Our friends at Norfolk appealed to us, and said the people were
persecuted, and that it was a matter of humanity to take them. Our
agent said they were driven from the county, and had appealed to him,
and begged to go to Liberia." Speech before the Society.
Hear the testimony of Thomas C. Brown, from Liberia, given
in May, 1834 :
" I am acquainted with several from Southampton County, Virginia,
who informed me that they received several hundred lashes from the
patrols to make them willing to go. In one instance, a man was sev
eral times compelled to witness the lashes inflicted on his wife, and
then to be severely flogged himself. In another instance, a family
received information from their white neighbors, that unless they went
to Liberia, they should be whipped. Having no means of redress,
they were obliged to go."

56 jay's works.
Hear the New York Colonization Society, when addressing
the public:
" We say to them (the free blacks), we think you may improve your
condition by going thither, but if you prefer remaimng here, you will
be protected and treated with kindness." Proceedings of New York Col
Soc, 1831.
Hear the same Society, when addressing the Legislature :
" We do not ask that the provisions of our constitution and statute
book should be so modified as to relieve and exalt the condition of the
colored people while they remain with us. Let these provisions stand
in all their rigor, to work out the ultimate and unbounded good
of this people." In plain English, to coerce their consent to go to
Africa. Memorial to New York Legislature, 1832.
We have seen what are the Connecticut and Virginia plans
for promoting colonization : now for the Pennsylvania plan,
At a public meeting held in the borough of Columbia, (Penn.)
at the Town Hall, 23d August, 1834, the following, among
other resolutions, were unanimously passed.
" Resolved, that we will not purchase any articles that can be pro
cured elsewhere, or give our vote for any office whatever, to any one
who employs negroes to do that species of labor white men have been
accustomed to perform.
" Resolved, that the Colonization Society ought to be supported by all
the citizens favorable to the removal of the blacks from this country."
Here we find the support of the Society avowedly coupled
with a most detestable plan of persecution. And now for the
practical operation of this meeting of the friends of the "benev
olent colonization system." It appears from a Columbia paper,
that one or two nights after the meeting, a mob collected, and
partly tore down the dwelling of a black man ; they then pro
ceeded to the office of another black man, who had had the
presumption to deal in lumber, " a species of labor white men
had been accustomed to perform," broke open the windows and
door, rifled the desk, scattered the papers in the street, and
attempted to overturn the building. Surely the Society maj
reasonably anticipate the consent of the blacks to emigrate,
when in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, such cogent
arguments are used to obtain it. Were the Society governed,

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 57
as it ought to be, by Christian principles, it would shrink from
encouraging persecution by accomplishing its object, the expor
tation of its victims. It would say explicitly to the authors of
these atrocities, "You shall gain nothing by your cruelty, through
our instrumentality. We will not encourage your farther perse
cutions, by removing those whose consent you have obtained by
such unjustifiable means ; we will not, to please you,
'Keep the word of promise to the ear,
And break it to the hope.' "
But alas, it has virtually given official notice that it will transport
all whose consent can be obtained, no matter by what barbarity.
Hear the declaration of Mr. - Gurley, the Secretary of the
Society :
" Should they (free blacks) be urged by any stress of cir
cumstances to seek an asylum beyond the limits of the United States,
humanity and religion will alike dictate that they should be assisted to
remove and establish themselves in freedom and prosperity in the land
of their choice." Letter to gentlemen in New York.
True it is the free blacks have been rendered by prejudice
and persecution an ignorant and degraded class ; but they are
still competent to appreciate the practical character of coloniza
tion philanthropy.
The following resolutions, passed by a meeting of free blacks
in New Bedford, in 1832, express the unanimous opinion of all
their brethren who have intelligence to form, or courage to
express an opinion on the subject.
" Resolved, That in whatever light we view the Colonization Soci
ety, we discover nothing in it but terror, prejudice, and oppression.
The warm and beneficent hand of philanthropy is not apparent in the
system, but the influence of the Society on public opinion is more pre
judicial to the interests and welfare of the people of color in the United
States, than slavery itself.
" Resolved, That the Society, to effect its purpose, the removal of
free people of color (not the slaves) through its agents, teaches the
public to believe that it is patriotic and benevolent to withhold from us
knowledge, and the means of acquiring subsistence ; and to look upon
us as unnatural and illegal residents in this country, and thus by the
force of prejudice, if not by law, endeavor to compel us to embark for
Africa, and that too apparently by our own free will and consent."

58 jay's works.
And now let us ask what purpose is to be answered by perse
cuting this people, and keeping them ignorant and degraded?
Does any one believe that they will ever be removed from the
country? They now amount to 362,000. In 16 years, 2,162
have been sent away, some at first voluntarily, but many of them
through coercion. But can cruelty, be it ever so extreme,
furnish the Society with funds and ships sufficient to transport
such a multitude ? They must, in spite of Connecticut and Vir
ginia persecution, remain with us. And if they are to remain
with us, what conduct towards them do policy and religion pre
scribe ? Conduct precisely opposite to that pursued by the
Society. We must instruct and elevate them, if we would not
be incumbered by an ignorant and depraved population; we
must treat them with justice and kindness, if we would avoid the
displeasure of Him who has declared, "Ye shall not oppress
one another."

CHAPTEE III.

INFLUENCE .OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY ON AFRICA —
SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE.
Very many who now despair of extirpating slavery by means
of the Society, continue to support it from a belief that it will
confer rich blessings on Africa. These anticipated blessings are
the suppression of the slave-trade, and the diffusion of religion
and civilization. Let us at present inquire how far the first may
reasonably be expected.
In the declarations of the Society and its members on this
subject, we shall find an astonishing medley of ignorance, rash
assertion, and honest confession.
"Sierra Leone has repaid Africa with still greater blessings; her
example, her influence and efforts, have given peace and security to the
neighboring coast; and who can estimate the extent of misery pre
vented, and of happiness conferred, to a population delivered from all
the horrors of the slave-trade ? " Fifth Rep. p. 18.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 59
" The line of coast from Sierra Leone to Cape Mount, is now under
British protection ; and from Cape Mount to Trade Town, a distance of
one hundred and twenty miles, the slave-trade cannot be prosecuted
with the least hope of success. Afr. Rep., II, p. 125 — Editorial.
" Every colony of civilized inhabitants, established on that coast, and
resolved to stop this trade to the extent of its means, will, at all events,
put an end to it for a considerable distance. The Colonies of Sierra
Leone, and of Liberia, both produce this effect within their respective
vicinities." Judge Blackford's Address to the Indiana Colonization
Society. Afr. Rep., VI, p. 66.
Of these compliments to Sierra Leone, it must be observed,
one is paid officially by the Board of Managers, and the other
by the Editor of the Repository. We beg the reader to keep
them in mind, as we shall hereafter inquire into their truth. We
will now proceed to notice some assertions relative to the agency
of the Liberia colony in suppressing the slave-trade.
" In fact, the Colonization Society proposes the only means by
which this accursed trade can ever be effectually stopped ; and, indeed,
the Colony of Liberia, which this Society has planted, has already freed
about two hundred and fifty miles of that coast from the ravages of these
enemies of the human race." Address of J. A. McKinney, ith July,
1830. Afr. Rep., VI, p. 231.
" The flag that waves on Cape Montserado, proclaims to the slave
trader that there is one spot, even in Africa, consecrated to freedom,
one spot which his polluted foot shall not tread." Speech of G. Smith,
V. Pres. 13th Jan. 1831. Uth Rep.
" Did we desire to put an end to these outrages upon humanity, (the
slave-trade,) the Colonization Society offers itself as the only efficient
means. The slaver has dared to show herself but once within the lim
its of Liberia, and then she received the rewards of her temerity."
Proceedings of N. Y. Col. Soc. 1832.
" No slaver now dares come within one hundred miles of the settle
ment." Rev. Dr. Hawkes's Speech ,at Col. Meeting in New York, Octo
ber, 1833.
" In less than thirteen years since its foundation, Liberia contains about
3000 free and happy citizens, who have removed from oppression and
bondage to the enjoyment of liberal institutions. The slave-trade has
been utterly destroyed along its entire coast, formerly the
most frequented mart of human flesh." Report of Philadelphia Young
Men's Col. Soc. made~2ilh Feb. 1835, U. S. Gazette, ith March, 1835.
The above are specimens of the assertions which have been
rashly made and credulously received. Let us now attend to
the honest confession on this subject, and let the reader compare
them with the foregoing assertions. That these confessions may

60 jay's works.
be better understood, it may be well to mention, that in the
remarks accompanying a map of Liberia, published in the 6th
vol. of the African Repository, it is stated, " The colony of Liberia
extends from the GalHnas River to the territory of Kroo Settra,
a distance of about 280 miles along the coast. The territory a£
present, (1830,) under the actual jurisdiction of the colony,
extends from Grand Cape Mount, to Trade Town, a distance of
about 150 miles." It appears, from the map, that the last limits
embrace Cape Mount, Cape Montserado, on which is built the
town of Monrovia, Bushrod Island, Bassa Cove, and Trade
Town. " The records of the colony afford abundant and unequivocal testi
mony of the undiminished extent and atrocity of the slave-trade.
From eight to ten, and even fifteen vessels have engaged at the same
time in this odious traffic, almost within reach of the guns of Liberia,
and as late as July, 1825, there were existing contracts for eight hundred
slaves to be furnished in the short space of four months, within
EIGHT MILES OF MONROVIA." Rep. X, p. 44, 1827.
" From all I can learn, I am induced to believe, that the slave-trade
is now carried on at the Gallinas, between Cape Mount and Sierra
Leone, and to the leeward of this place, to a greater extent than it has
been for many years." Letter from R. Randall, Agent at Liberia,
28ZA Dec. 1828. Afr. Rep., V, p. 4.
" Frequently within sight of the colonial factories, the slave-traders
carry on their operations. The slave-trade never has been carried on
with more activity, than it is at this time. There is established at Gal
linas, a regular slave-agent, who furnishes slaves to the slave-vessels.
He receives his goods from trading vessels, and it is said principally
from an American vessel. He purchases large numbers of slaves, and
furnishes the slave-vessels, which principally bring out specie. These
vessels run up and down the coast until a convenient opportunity
offers, when they run in and get their cargoes of slaves. Some of
them are captured, and I have been informed, they have been bought
afterwards by their original owners, and that the same vessel has fre
quently been bought and sold several times." Letter from R. Ran
dall, Agent at Liberia, Feb. 1829, Afr. Rep., V, p. 148. The same
letter states the astounding fact, that "Mamma, the proprietress of
Bushrod Island, just in front of Monrovia, whose town is not more '
than a quarter of a mile from our settlements on that island," was
engaged in the slave-trade, and had sold several hundred— p. 150.
" It is painful to state, that the managers have reason to believe that
the slave-trade is still prosecuted to a great extent, and with circum
stances of undiminished atrocity. The factthat much was done by Mr.
Ashmun to banish it from the territory, under the colonial jurisdiction,
St [ T1 ^V'tm ex-kts- even on ^ territory; and a
if 1 ?! "°rth.and s°«th of Liberia, it is seen in its true characters
of fraud, and rapine, and blood." Rep., XILI, p. I3._x830

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 61
Now, be it recollected, that it was after this official annuncia
tion by the Board of Managers, that the slave-trade existed even
on the territory of Liberia, that the African Repository pub
hshed without contradiction the vaunt of Mr. McKiniiey already
quoted, that the colony had freed about two hundred and fifty
miles of the coast from the slave-trade !
" I hope the Board will adopt some more effectual measures for sup
pressing the slave-trade within the territory of Liberia. Since the
death of Don Miguel of B.assa, Peter Blanco, a Spanish slave-trader,
for some years a resident in the Gallinas, has opened a slave factory at
Grand Cape Mount. Such a thing ought not to be, as it is only
forty-five miles from here. I am sorry to remark, that this abominable
traffic is carried on with the utmost activity, all along the coast. Capt.
Parker, during his trading at the Gallinas of about three weeks, saw
no less than nine hundred shipped." Letter from A. D. Williams,
Agent of the Society at Liberia, — 10th Sept. 1830. Afr. Rep., VI, p.
275. " With undiminished atrocity and activity is this odious traffic now
carried on all along the African coast ; slave factories are established
in the immediate vicinity of the colony," &c. Rep., XIV, p. 11 — 1831.
" The cursed practice of slave-trading, I regret to say, is still car
ried on between this and Sierra Leone." Letter of Rev. Mr. Cox ; Mon
rovia, 8th of April, 1833. Afr. Rep., IX, p. 252.
" Bassa Cove was purchased* by Governor Pinney from King Joe
Harris, the native sovereign of that fine harbor. It was bought at a
moderate price, and without a drop of spirits. The negotiation was
effected in November last, 1834, and affords peculiar satisfaction to
the friends of humanity, inasmuch as no less than 500 SLAVES had
been shipped from there in October." N. Y. Commercial Advertiser,
17th March, 1835. The same fact is stated in the " Colonization
Herald," Uh April, 1835.
Such are the refutations furnished by the Society itself, of all
its boasts about suppressing the slave-trade ; and yet we are told
that the Society is the only means of putting an end to the
traffic ! It seems never to occur to these gentlemen, that the
abolition of slavery would, as a matter of course, put an imme
diate and total stop to the trade.f
* Bassa Cove is situated between Monrovia and Trade Town, and has there
fore been for years under the jurisdiction of the colony ; of course the pur
chase alluded to, must have been of the possession of the native occupants.
fTo what extent the importation of slaves in the United States is now
carried, we are ignorant. In 1819, Mr. Middleton of South Carolina, stated
on the floor of Congress, that, in his opinion, 13,000 Africans were annually
smuggled into the Southern States. Mr. Wright of Virginia, estimated the
number at 15,000. 6*

62 jay's works.
But in what way does the Society expect to destroy this com
merce ? By planting colonies of ignorant and depraved negroes
on the African coast. Every slave factory is of itself a colony,
and for the most part, of intelligent white men ; and yet it is
supposed, that negro colonists, who, when in America, were "the
most depraved of the human race," will be too virtuous to yield
to the temptations of a lucrative commerce. Why should the
free negroes of America, who Mr. Clay assures us, are " of all
descriptions of our population, the most corrupt, depraved, and
abandoned," have, when removed to Liberia, a greater abhor
rence for the iniquity of the slave-trade, than their brethren of
Sierra Leone ? If the trade has been actually promoted by the
latter colony, why will it be suppressed by the former ?
" The acting Attorney General at Sierra Leone declared, 1812, on
the trial of certain persons for the infraction of the British abolition
laws, that the town of Sierra Leone was ' the heart from which all the
arteries and veins of the slave-trading system, had for years been ani
mated and supplied.' " Dr. Thorpe's Views of the present Increase 0}
the Slave-trade, p. 71.
The following facts are gathered from documents published
by the British Parliament in 1832. Chief Justice Jeffcott, of
Sierra Leone, in 1830, delivered a charge to the Grand Jury,
in which he declared that he had received credible information,
that persons in the colony were engaged in aiding and abetting
the slave-trade, and fitting out ships for the trade. He asserted,
that the colony " established for the express purpose of suppress
ing this vile traffic, was made a mart for carrying it on." He
also stated, that within the last ten years, twenty-two thousand
Africans had been located in the colony by the British Govern
ment, at an expense of nearly seven millions sterling, and that
now there are not to be found in the colony above seventeen
or eighteen thousand men ! These extraordinary and appall
ing declarations attracted the attention of the British Gov
ernment, who appointed a Commission to inquire into their
truth. The Commissioners, in their report dated the 26th of
October of the same year, state that, from the testimony taken
before them, '• they cannot but conclude that the nefarious sys-

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 63
tern of kidnapping has prevailed in this colony to a much greater
extent than was even alluded to in the charge of the Chief Jus
tice." From the testimony pubhshed with the report, it appears
that the slave-vessels are in the habit of bringing out specie,
for the purchase of supplies on the coast ; and that " Mr. Hilary
Teasue, who resides at the American settlement at Liberia, at
Cape Mesurado, near the Gallinas, and who trades between
that place (Gallinas, a slave-factory) and Sierra Leone, pur
chasing some goods from a Mr. Lake, a merchant in the colony,
produced a bag containing about one thousand dollars, on which
was marked the name of the Spanish schooner Manzanares.
This vessel took in her cargo at the Gallinas, and was subse
quently condemned as a slave-ship."
Here we find a colonist of Liberia trading at a slave-factory,
and afterwards exhibiting 1000 dollars in specie, received in all
human probability from a slave-ship. It is surely unreasonable to
suppose that petty colonial merchants will refuse to sell supplies to
slave-ships for specie. Indeed, every new colony on the coast,
will, while slavery continues, give new facilities to this accursed
commerce ; nor can the government at home prevent avaricious
and unprincipled colonists from participating in it. No one can
question the desire of Great Britain to purge Sierra Leone of
this enormity, and yet we find the following statement in the
English Monthly Review, for May, 1833. " One of the school
masters in Sierra Leone has been tried for selling some of his
scholars. There were lately upwards of one hundred liberated
Africans, who were kidnapped from Sierra Leone, and were
conveyed to a place near the banks of the river Pongos. Here
they were detained, till an opportunity occurred of re-shipping
them as slaves."

64 jay's works.
CHAPTER IV.
INFLUENCE OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY ON AFRICA —
DIFFUSION OF CIVILIZATION AND CHRISTIANITY.
Although the Society is not a missionary institution, builds
no churches, employs no ministers, and distributes no Bibles or
tracts, yet it has persuaded the public that Liberia is a mission
ary establishment, and the radiating point from which a flood of
light and holiness is to spread over Africa. So confidently and
constantly has the missionary influence of the Society been
asserted, that many of the members unfeignedly believe it, and
their contributions are lavished, and their prayers are offered
for the regeneration of Africa by emigrants, who, when in the
United States, were denounced as " a curse and contagion wher
ever they reside." Let us attend to the stupendous objects the
Society proposes to accomplish.
" It would illuminate a continent. It would publish the name of
Christ on the dark mountains of Africa, and the burning sands of the
desert. It would kindle up holiness and hope among uncounted tribes,
whose souls are as black with crime and misery, as are the forms of
matter that veil them." Afr. Rep., I, 164 — Editorial.
" The little band at Liberia, who are spreading over the wilderness
around them a strange aspect of life and beauty, are in every sense a
missionary station. Every ship freighted from our shores with their
suffering kindred, will be freighted also with the heralds of the cross.
You will see the fight breaking in upon one and another dark habita
tion of cruelty. The night of heathenism will depart. One tribe after
another will come to the light of Zion, and the brightness of her rising.
Ethiopia will awake and rise from the dust, and look abroad on the
day and stretch forth her hand to God. The fight will spread and
kindle and brighten till all the fifty mixliSns of Africa are
brought to the glorious liberty of the sons of God." Address to Ae
Kentucky Col. Society by Mr. Breckenridge.
¦ "J^y $** e7%™^), g0,t0 unchain millions of slaves fettered
in the bondage of death." Afr. Rep., IX 198
."^^M^-wM1"' wMch' a—icedthe Saviour to the
astonished Magi, it. (the Society) points to the advent of the same
Redeemer, corning in the power of 'his Spirit to roll away the darkness
Preside? g^erations." Speech of Mr. Frelinghuysen, Vice

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY 65
" This Society proposes to add another regenerated continent to
our globe, and one hundred and fifty millions to the family of
civilized man." Speech of Elliot Cresson before the Society. African
Rep., IX, 360.
The number of agents to be employed, are proportioned to
the mighty work to be achieved.
" The Society proposes to send out not one or two pious members of
Christianity into a foreign land, but to transport annually, for an indefi
nite number of years in one view of its scheme, 6,000, in another
56,000 missionaries of the descendants of Africa itself, to communicate
the benefits of our religion and the arts." Mr. Clay's Speech before
Kentucky Col. Society. Afr. Rep., VI, 24.
It will be observed that these missionaries are to communicate
the benefits of both religion and the arts, and they are to be
taken from two classes. The 6,000 are to be the annual increase
of the free negroes; the 56,000 are to be manumitted slaves.
The character of the first class is thus given by Mr. Clay, in the
same speech in which he proposes their employment :
" Of all descriptions of our population, and of either portion of the
African race, the free people of color are by far, as a class, the most
corrupt, depraved, and abandoned."
As this seems rather an unpromising character for teachers of
religion, we presume this portion are to be confined to instruction
in the arts ; and that the explanation of religious mysteries, and
the inculcation of moral duties, are to be entrusted to the 56,000
just released from bondage. Of the peculiar opportunities
afforded them by the laws of the slave States, for fitting them
selves for their new vocation, we may speak hereafter. Of this
" great company of preachers," about three thousand have already
set up their tabernacle at Liberia. We might naturally suppose,
that a colony of missionaries would be " a holy city," a sort of
New Jerusalem, and such we are assured it is. We have heard
of "the poetry of philanthropy," as applied to the sympathy
expressed by abolitionists for the sufferings of the slaves ; the
following extracts prove that there is a poetry of colonization
which " Can give to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name,"

66 jay's works.
" It (the colony) is already to the African tribes like a city set upon
a hill, which cannot be hid. A thousand barbarians, who have long
made merchandise of their brethren, and been regarded themselves as
the objects of a bloody and accursed traffic, come within its gates, and
are taught the doctrine of immortality, — the religion of the Son of God."
8th Report, p. 14. — 1825.
Here we have a solemn and official annunciation by the Board
of Managers, of one of the most extraordinary facts' ever
recorded in the annals of missionary exertions. It appears from
official documents, that at the date of this report, the whole
number of emigrants could not have been more than 242, and
had probably been reduced by death below that number ; and of
this number, a large portion were, of course, women and chil
dren. Yet this little band of Christian missionaries, just
escaped from the ignorance and vice in which they had been
enveloped in America, and still struggling for existence in a
sickly climate, and amid all the hardships and privations of a
recent settlement in a savage land ; casting aside the fear of man,
and with a faith almost miraculous in divine protection, admit
within their gates an army of barbarians, four times the number
of the whole of their little community, — barbarians too, who had
long been engaged in a bloody and accursed traffic, making mer
chandise of their brethren ; and "these barbarians, suddenly
divested of their savage character, sit humbly at the feet of the
newly-arrived messengers of Heaven, and the natives of Africa
receive instruction in the doctrine of immortality and the reli
gion of the Son of God, from lips that had never uttered any
other language than broken English ! It is singular that in the
subsequent documents of the Society, we hear nothing farther of
these thousand barbarians. How many became converts to the
religion in which they were instructed ; how long their attendance
on the missionaries were continued, and why it was afterwards
totally suspended, are points on which no information has been
vouchsafed to us.
It is natural we should wish to know more of these wonderful
teachers, and fortunately we are presented with the following
picture of them by an eye-witness.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 67
" The holy Author of our religion and salvation has made the hearts
of a large proportion of these people, the temples of the Divine Spirit.
I have seen the proudest and profanest foreigners that ever visited the
colony, trembling with amazement and conviction, almost literally in
the descriptive phraseology of St. Paul, find the secrets of their hearts
made manifest, and falling down upon their faces, worship God, and
report that God is in the midst of these people of a truth." Ashmun's
letter, 31st December, 1825. Afr. Rep., II, 90.
We should certainly conclude from these accounts, that these
holy men were blessed with
" Composed desires, affections ever even,
Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to Heaven."
Yet strange to tell, we are presented with the following perplex
ing statement, by the same eye-witness :
" About twelve months since it (the colony) had entirely given way,
as the committee are but too well apprised, to a blind and furious
excitement of the worst passions, caused by a somewhat unfortunate
policy operating on ignorance and invincible prejudice. During my
absence for health, the people were obliged to taste some of the bitter
fruits of anarchy, and by the singular mercy of God, only escaped
those tragedies of blood, which can find no modern parallel but in the
history of the civil murders and devastations of St. Domingo." Ash
mun's letter, 15th January, 1825. Afr. Rep., I, 23.
The excitement here alluded to, and its unhappy consequences,
occurred, it will be seen by a comparison of dates, hi 1824;
and that wonderful moral change, which rendered the hearts of
a large proportion of these people the temples of the Divine
.Spirit, must have been effected in 1825. Yet it was in the
.beginning of 1825, that the managers announced at their annual
meeting at Washington, the marvellous fact of the instruction
,of the thousand barbarians within the gates of the colony, a fact
which of course must have happened several months previous
,to the date of the report, and consequently during or about the
time of the "furious excitement!"
t In March, 1825, the editor of the African Repository gives
as the following delightful intelligence :
[¦ " The eye of the stranger is struck with the religious aspect of the
settlement. He beholds on Cape Montserado, standing in lonely
beauty, a Christian village. There flourish the virtues of the gospel,
defended by the Almighty from the influences of paganism, cherished
ind refreshed by the dews of his grace." Afr. Rep'., I, 5.

68 jay's WORKS.
The secret of this surprising exhibition of Christian loveliness
and purity, is thus explained :
" It is well known that this little community is made up of selected
individuals, and that the Board have ever required of those seeking
their patronage, satisfactory evidence that their morals were pure and
their habits industrious. Hence this settlement has from ^ its origin ex
hibited great decency and sobriety, respect for the Sabbath, and the
other peculiar duties and ordinances of our religion. It has thus shed
a benign and sacred light upon the heathen, and the feelings of the
profane and lawless stranger as he treads upon Cape Montserado, are
subdued into unwonted seriousness." Afr. Rep., IX, p. 19, 1826.
But again we are perplexed by the assertion of the Governor
of the colony.
" For at least two years to come, a much more discriminating selec
tion of settlers must be made than ever has been— even in the first
and second expeditions by the Elizabeth and Nautilus in 1820 and
1822 — or the prosperity of the colony will inevitably and rapidly de
cline." Ashmun's Letter, 3d of March, 1828. Afr. Rep., IV, 86.
In the 11th Report the managers assure us :
" No village perhaps, in our own land, exhibits less which is offen
sive, and more that is gratifying to the eye of the Christian, than
the village of Monrovia. Crimes are almost unknown, and the uni
versal respect manifested for the Sabbath, and the various institutions
and duties of Christianity, have struck the natives with surprise, and
excited the admiration of foreigners." Afr. Rep., XI, p. 14, 1828.
But how are we to reconcile this with the following state
ments ?
" Permit me to say, sir, there must be a great revolution in this colony,
before it can have a salutary influence on the surrounding natives;
that is, before it can have a moral influence over them." Letter from
Rev. G. M. Erskine, 3d of April, 1830. Afr. Rep., VI, 121.
" We stand in much need of a work-house and some acres of land
enclosed, for confining licentious females, and other disorderly and
lazy persons." Letter from A. D. Williams, Agent, 10th of Sept., 1830.
Afr. Rep., VI, 275. J ' J r
" There are several enterprising merchants here. It is not, how
ever, a favorable spot for small storekeepers and wandering pedlars,
who, I am told, generally become stripped of what they may have got,
and m wandering about in the interior for small traffic, disgust Ik
natives by-theit -immoralities Letter from Lieut. Page to Sec. if No*
9th of April, 1832. Afr. Rep., VHI, 141. J J

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 69
" With respect to the character of the people composing this expe
dition, I regret to be compelled to state, that they are, with the excep
tion of the Pages from Virginia, and a few others, the lowest and most
abandoned of their class. Our respectable colonists themselves are
becoming alarmed at the great number of ignorant and abandoned
characters that have arrived here within the last twelve months."
Letter from Dr. Mechlin, Agent, Sept., 1832. Afr. Rep., VLU, 298.
" Let them (the friends of the Society in America) know, that to ex
tend knowledge and promote sound piety, a quire of paper is at the
present moment of more worth than a Bible. Bibles and tracts have
been sent here, and either used as waste paper, or made food for
worms. Why ? Not because the people despise either, but because we
have not a reading population. Until this is secured, Bibles would be
of more value in China." Letter from J. B. Pinney, Agent, 1th of
March, 1834.
On the 17th of June, 1833, Mr. Gurley, Secretary of the So
ciety, in a speech at a colonization meeting in New York, haz
arded the following most extraordinary assertion,' — " Ten thou
sand natives had placed themselves under the protection of
the colony, receiving from it instruction in civilization."
The Society, at its annual meeting on the 20th of January,
1834, unanimously
" Besolved, that this Society is cheered in its enterprise by the benefi
cent effects which its operations have upon the natives of Africa it-
self." Afr. Rep., IX, 360.
On the 20th of February, 1834, the Rev. Mr. Pinney, Agent
at Liberia, thus writes from the colony:
" The colonists are very ignorant of everything about the interior.
Except the tribes along the coast, nothing at all is known, and of them,
little but their manner of traffic. Nothing has been done for the natives
hitherto by the colonists, except to educate a few who were in their
families in the capacity of servants."
Mr. Pinney appears not to have been acquainted with the
fact, that " a thousand barbarians " had been taught the doctrine
of immortality within the gates of the colony, or that " ten thou
sand natives " had received instruction in civilization !
Had any missionary society been guilty of such extravagant
anticipations and such gross and palpable contradictions, the
whole community would have joined in loading it with ridicule
and odium.

70 jay's works.
It is deeply to be regretted that some distinguished coloniza
tionists have of late attempted to lead the public to hope that
in future no emigrants but such as are of good moral character
will be permitted to go to Liberia. It is difficult to reconcile
such an attempt with moral rectitude, unless it be accompanied
with a total and avowed abandonment of colonization as a means
of relieving the country from the nuisance of a free colored pop
ulation, and from the guilt and curse of slavery. Of the gross
inconsistency, (not to use a harsher term,) of colonizationists
on this subject, the proceedings "of a colonization meeting in
Cincinnati, October 31st, 1834, afford a striking example. On
motion of the Rev. Dr. Beecher, the following resolution was
unanimously adopted :
" Resolved, that the establishment of colonies in Africa by the selec
tion of colored persons who are moral, industrious, and temperate, is
eminently calculated of itself to advance the cause of civilization and
religion among the benighted native population of that continent ; as
well as to afford facilities to the various missionary societies for the
prosecution of their pious designs."
This resolution would be utterly without point or meaning,
were it not laudatory of the plans of the Colonization Society;
and no person of common intelligence would conjecture from
the resolution, that the "selection" mentioned in it was utterly
at variance with, and directly opposed to, the avowed objects of
the Society. Slavery in our country cannot be abohshed by
colonization, without removing more than two millions of slaves;
and how is it possible to remove this number, and yet select for
colonists only " the moral, industrious, and temperate?" Nev
ertheless, the meeting
"Resolved, that the friends of humanity and the friends of God
should cherish the Colonization Society, because of its influence TO
abolish slavery, and advance the best interests of the African
race." Pages might be quoted to show that the professed ultimate
object of the Society, is to remove the whole colored population
to Africa, without any selection whatever. Li 1824 a Commit
tee of the Board, in an official report, declared, that the national
interest

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 71
" Required that the whole mass of free persons of color, and those
who may become such with the consent of their owners, should be
progressively removed from us as fast as their own consent can be
obtained, and as the means can be found for their removal and for their
proper establishment in Africa." Afr. Rep., VLT, p. 113.
" But the Colonization Society hopes for, and aims at much more —
the abolition of slavery, and the removal of all the black people
from the United States." Proceedings of New York Col. Soc, 2d
Anniversary. We have remarked that expediency is unhappily the gov
erning principle of the Society, and to this principle must be
attributed the recent talk about select emigrants.
Funds are low, and temperance is popular, and all at once we
hear that the colonies in Liberia are to be temperance colonies ;
and that the emigrants are to be " moral, industrious, and tem
perate." And so we are to send the good negroes away, and
keep the bad at home. And yet, by transporting the few moral,
industrious and temperate individuals that can be selected in
a vicious and ignorant population of between two or three mil
lions, we are to abolish slavery ! Surely colonizationists, by
holding such language, pay but a poor compliment to their own
candor, or the common sense of the community. The truth is,
there never has been, and never will be, a selection made.*
The two last cargoes sent by the Society, were, by the public _
confession of Mr. Breckenridge, " two cargoes of vagabonds."
* Since the first edition of this work, a public meeting has been held, (17th
March,) in New Orleans, preparatory to the departure of some manumitted
slaves to Africa. At this meeting, the intended emigrants were arrayed before
the audience, and the agent of the American Colonization Society informed
them that the Society was " unalterably determined to send to the colony none
but such as are willing to pledge themselves to total abstinence from ardent
spirits." He also announced that one negro had been rejected as an emi
grant "on account of his habits of intoxication." A pledge was then read
to the negroes, and they were ordered to signify their assent by rising, which
they accordingly did. See New York Journal of Commerce, 1st of April,
1835. This New Orleans scene will afford no gratification to the friends of tem
perance; nor will it permanently advance the cause of colonization. In a
population universally addicted to intoxication, ONE is selected as a public
example of the abhorrence of the Society to drunkenness, and is shut out
from the promised land, not for refusing to take the pledge, but on account
of his intemperate habits ; while his companions are required to promise total
abstinence, under the penalty of spending their lives in bondage.
If the Society wishes to promote temperance, instead of extorting pledges
from miserable slaves, let them exercise the power they possess of excluding
all intoxicating liquors from their colony.

72 jay's works.
WiU it be pretended that all the coercion exerted to induce the
blacks to emigrate, operates only on the good? or that it is the
drunken and profligate who find favor in the eyes of coloniza
tionists, and are permitted to remain in peace and quietness at
home? The Society itself has borne abundant testimony to the
depravity of the free blacks, and its friends, with scarcely an
exception, zealously maintain that the slaves are unfit for free
dom ; and yet, as we have seen, it is proposed to transport them
all to Africa. And now we would ask, on what prmciple of
common sense, on what record of experience does the Society
expect that a population, which, in a land of Bibles and churches,
is sunk in vice and ignorance, will, when landed on the shores
of Africa, and immersed in all the darkness of paganism, become
on a sudden a Christian society, and employed in teaching
thousands of barbarians " the doctrine of immortality, the religion
of the Son of God!"
Pious colonizationists would themselves be shocked at the
proposal of disgorging on the islands of the Pacific the tenants
of our prisons, under the pretext of instructing the natives in
" religion and the arts ; " and yet they flatter themselves that
emigrants, who, by their own showing, are less intelligent, and
scarcely less guilty than our prisoners, will, by undergoing a salt
water baptism, land in Africa wholly regenerated, and qualified,
as heralds of the cross, to convert millions and millions to the
faith of the Gospel. So monstrous an absurdity can be the
offspring only of a deep and sinful prejudice. Hatred to the
Masks can alone delude us into the belief that in baiiishing them
from our soil, we are doing God service. Were it not for this
hatred, we should feel and acknowledge, that Christianity must
be propagated in Africa, as elsewhere, by faithful and enlight
ened missionaries. If the^climate or other circumstances require
that such missionaries be of African descent, it is our duty to
educate them before we send them. But, alas, instead of
educating negroes, we wish to keep them in ignorance, and yet
pretend that our nuisances will, in Africa, be converted into
blessings. But if colonizationists are so perverse as to believe

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 73
that a bitter fountain will send forth sweet waters, let them
contemplate the following picture of Sierra Leone, drawn by a
devoted friend to the Society :
" Including the suburbs of the town, (Free Town,) there are some
six or eight thousand inhabitants, about eighty of whom are white.
The morals of Free Town are fearfully bad. As in" colonies, too
generally where the restraints of home, of friends, of those we love,
and those we fear, are broken off, licentiousness prevails to a most
lamentable degree. The abomination is not committed under the
cover of midnight, nor am I speaking of the natives whose early habits
might plead some apology for them; it is done at noonday, and to use
a figure, the throne as well the footstool has participated in the evil ;
and the evil, I am told, is increasing. Sanctioned as it is by those who
take the lead in the Society, and who ought to form the morals of the
colony, avarice has been added to lust, and those who otherwise might
have been virtuous, have sold themselves to work wickedness. Human
ity and philanthropy, which have struggled so hard and so long to help
this degraded country, must weep and cover itself with sackcloth, to see
its best interests so wickedly perverted." Letter from Rev. M. B. Cox,
Methodist Missionary in Liberia. Afr. Rep., IX, p. 209.
There is still an important consideration which does not seem
to have engaged the attention of colonizationists. It is proposed
to transport to Africa, our whole colored population, and of
course to found a mighty nation in Liberia. But how long will
this nation remain dependent on the Board of Managers at
Washington? Instead of millions, suppose the colony to be
only ten thousand strong. Who is to govern it, who defend it,
and fight its battles ? Were the colony now to declare indepen
dence, how would the Society reduce it to subjection; and if
not subjected, what becomes of the mighty plan of making it the
receptacle of our slaves and free negroes ? Suppose the col
onists, like their brethren of Sierra Leone, engage in the slave-
trade, who is to punish or control them ? Suppose in time they
find the influx of emigrants inconvenient, and refuse to admit
them, who shall coerce them ?
On the whole, the system of African colonization is full of
absurdities, and contradictions, and evils, which are not seen
because they are concealed by a veil of prejudice. It is a system
which strikingly exposes the folly of human wisdom, when

74 jay's WORKS.
opposed to the precepts of the Gospel of Christ. Had America
possessed that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of true
wisdom, slavery would long since have ceased from among us,
and our colored brethren, treated with Christian kindness,
instead of being ignorant and degraded, would have been valued
and useful citizens ; and our churches, instead of uniting to send
" cargoes of vagabonds " to Africa, under the guise of Christian
missionaries, would have aided the descendants of her sons,
furnished by us with all the stores of human learning, and
selected for their piety and zeal, in proclaiming the glad tidings
of salvation throughout that benighted continent.

CHAPTER V

INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY ON SLAVERY.
In 1822, a committee was appointed by a public meeting in
Boston, to report on the character and tendency of the American
Colonization Society. The committee, in their report, remark:
" It is only from the belief which the committee very cordially enter
tain that the active members of the American Colonization Society are
perfectly disposed to frame their measures with reference to the entire
suppression of the slave-trade, and to a gradual and prudent, but com
plete emancipation of tliose now held in slavery, that we can
regard the Society as having any claim upon the sympathy or assistance
of the people of New England."
Such were the expectations by which Northern philanthropists
were at first induced to countenance the Society. There is
scarcely to be found a colonization article or speech that does not
warrant these expectations, that does not promise the exertion by
the Society of a mighty moral influence in abolishing slavery.
Now it is obvious that such an influence must operate in one
or more of the following ways, viz. :

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 75
1. On the conscience of the slave-holder, convincing him that
slave-holding is sinful, and that his Maker requires him to lib
erate his slaves.
2. On the reputation of the slave-holder, making him feel
that his standing in the community is lowered by keeping his
fellow-men in bondage, and enjoying, without compensation, the
fruits of their labor.
3. On the interests of the slave-holder, persuading him that
emancipation would enhance his property.
4. On the /ears of the slave-holder, alarming him for the safety
of himself and family.
5. By the power of example, showing the slave-holder, by the
conduct of others whom he esteems, what his own ought to be.
We flatter ourselves that we shall prove that the influence of
the Society is in no degree exerted in any one of these ways,
except the last. Of the extent of this last mode, we shall speak
hereafter. It will not be pretended that the Society addresses itself to
the conscience of the slave-holder. Such addresses are not
authorized by the constitution, and have been repeatedly dis
claimed by the Society. But when the Society disclaims appeals
to the conscience, it disclaims the most powerful of all means for
ihe removal of slavery.
" We never made any headway," says a British writer, " in the
abolition of the slave-trade, and of slavery, till it was taken up
by the rehgious men, prosecuted as a concern of the soul, with
reference to eternity, and by motives drawn from the cross of
Clirist." Mr. G. Smith, a most estimable officer of the Society, remarked,
in a temperance address : " I never heard that temperance had
any success any where, unless the appeals in its favor were made
directly to the consciences of the rum-dealers. Strike out these,
and it is in vain that you seek for other means to propel the tri
umphant car of temperance. Hitch to that car, health, economy,
expediency, the public good, what you please, if you leave out
the appeal to men's consciences, you have, as we say at the
North, a weak team."- And surely a more weak, broken-winded,

76 jay's works.
good-for-nothing team, than colonization, was never hitched to
the car of abolition. How, and in what direction, does this team
draw ? It is amusing to observe how wary colonizationists are
of approaching this question. They dwell on the political evils
of slavery, and call on religion and patriotism for aid in remov
ing them ; and when, in breathless attention, we are waiting to
learn by what process the moral influence of the Society is to
deliver us from the curse of slavery, in a moment the scene
shifts to Africa, and we are entertained with visions of its future
bliss and glory. It may be safely asserted, that not one coloni
zation writer or orator in a hundred, ever attempts to explain
how the Society is to induce masters to liberate their slaves.
Occasionally, however, the effort is made. Mr. Knapp, in a
speech before the Society, thus explains the matter :
"In my opinion, it (slavery) may be cured in less time than it has
been growing up. Open once the facilities of emigration — show an
object for it, and, like any other business, it will increase to any extent
we may wish. The natural world has yielded her impossibilities, as
they were thought, to the efforts of enlightened men ; why should to
not be as successful in the moral ? A fair and permanent road is now
built over the Alps, the passage of which was once considered as suffi
cient to give immortality to the successful adventurer." 10th iJep.,p.6.
So, it seems, that if we open once the facilities of emigration,
that is, provide ships, &c, the planters will at once call in their
slaves from their cotton and sugar fields, and ship them to Afri
ca ; but why they will do so, is a problem, which, after all, Mr.
Knapp omits to solve.
" This work, (colonization,) as it advances, tends to improve the
character, and elevate the condition of the free people of color, and
thus to take away one standing and very influential argument against
both individual and general abolition. This, to an unprejudiced mind,
is one of the most obvious tendencies of African colonization. Elevate
the character of the free people of color ; let it be seen that they are
men indeed ; let the degrading associations which foUow them be broken
up by the actual improvement of their character as a people, and negro
slavery must wither and die." New Haven Christian Spectator for
March, 1833. r
As the Society utterly disclaims all attempts to elevate the
free blacks here, the meaning of the above is, that when the

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 77
slave-holder in America learns that black men in Liberia are
intelligent and respectable, he will release his slaves from their
fetters. We wonder if similar intelligence from the West Indies
will produce the same effect ; if so, it may be obtained at far
less expense of time and money, than from Africa.
Let us now attend to the process by which an excellent vice
president of the Society supposes slavery is to be abolished.
" Let Africa begin to enter upon the redemption of her character,
which guilty Christian nations have for centuries combined to keep
down to the lowest point of degradation, and she will begin to be
respected, and the condition of her outcast children on our snores, will
awaken a livelier sympathy. And when Africa shall have put on the
garment of civilization, and the influence of her regeneration shall be
felt throughout this land, our most tenacious and obstinate slave-holder
will shrink from the relation he bears to her children. The poor crea
ture whom he formerly regarded as a few removes above the brute, will
now present himself before the new associations of his master's mind,
as his fellow-man and his equal, and the slave will be permitted to go
free." Speech of G. Smith, Esq., lith Rep., p. 11.
It would seem, that at the close of the fourteenth year of the
Society's labors, Africa had not yet, in the opinion of Mr. Smith,
begun to enter upon the redemption of her character. How
soon a beginning is to be made, and in how many years, or cen
turies, the Society expects to complete the work of dressing
Africa in the garment of civilization, we are not informed. But
when this work shall have been finished, and when it shall have
produced a general sensation (how strong and of what kind we
know not) throughout America, then the motions of the sugar-
mill and cotton-gin are to be arrested, and the fetters are to fall
from the slave. Why ? Because the commands of God, and the
interests and safety of the master, require it ? No ; but because
the master will then make the discovery, that his poor slave, but
little removed as he is from the brute, is still his fellow-man and
his equal ! This is certainly a most marvellous process for
teaching the Southern planters a plain, simple truth ; a truth,
; too, which was proclaimed by their own representatives, so long
ago as 1776, in the Declaration of Independence, but which
unfortunately seems not to have had the influence which Mr.
i Smith supposes it will exert, when taught by the regeneration of
Africa.

78 jay's works.
We may now judge a little of the elements of that moral in-
fluence which a Christian Society exerts against slavery. Con
science and the word of God, death, judgment, and eternity,
enter not into its composition.
" The Society," declares one of its vice presidents, " tends, and may
powerfully tend, to rid us gradually and entirely in the United States,
of slaves and slavery." Ii. G. Harper. See 14th Rep., p. 23.
Let us now see how gradually this riddance is to be effected.
" We have never supposed that the Society's plan could be accom
plished in a few years ; but, on the contrary, have boasted that it will
demand a century for its fulfilment." Mr. Fitzhugh, Vice President.
Afr. Rep., IV, p. 344.
It may seem singular that philanthropists should exult in the
conviction that their plan for doing good would require a century
for its fulfilment ; but the benevolence of the " colonization sys
tem" is peculiar.
" There are those, sir, who ask, ' And could not a quarter of a cen
tury cease and determine these two great evils,' (free blacks and slaves?)
You and I, my dear sir, on whom the frost of time has fallen rather
perceptibly, would say a century." Speech of Mr. Cusliss. 13(4
Rep., p. viii.
" The sudden abolition of slavery in a community where it existed
to any considerable extent, would - be pernicious. But this is danger
which can occasion no alarm, admitting that the colonization scheme
contemplates the ultimate abolition of slavery, yet that result could
only be produced by the slow and gradual operation of centuries."
Afr. Rep., I, p. 217.
" It is not expected to remove so great an evil as two millions of
slaves suddenly : if it can be accomphshed in a century, it will be as
much as the most sanguine of our friends ought to expect." Judgt
Best's Address to the Indiana Col. Soc. Afr. Rep., IX, p. 71.
" It is not the work of a day, nor a year ; it is not the work of one
time, nor of two ; but it is one which will now commence, and may
continue for ages." View of Slavery, by Humanitas, a CohniMm
advocate. Baltimore, 1822.
Thus we see that the continuance of slavery, with all its
licentiousness, ignorance, and suffering, for at least a century to
come, is calmly contemplated by zealous and distinguished colon
izationists. But still the Society expects ultimately to abohsh
slavery. Let us therefore inquire what it must effect to fulfil
this expectation.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 79
The increase of our slave population, from the census of 1820
to that of 1830, was 472,568. Estimating the future increase
at the same ratio, it will be for the ten years ending in 1840,
617,263 ; and for the ten years ending in 1850, 806,762. The
annual increase is now upwards of 54,000, and the daily excess
of births over deaths, 147. In 1850, it will be 80,676 annually,
and 221 daily!
From this statement it will be perceived what must be the
power of the " moral influence " of the Society to remove to
Africa merely the annual increase of our slave population ; and
hence we may judge of its ability to deliver the country from
slavery. In forming an opinion on this subject, we shall be fur
ther aided by inquiring what advantages the Society has enjoyed,
and what have been the results of its labors.
Never has any voluntary association received in an equal
degree the applause and patronage of both state and church.
Men of all parties, and of all religions, and of no religion, have
zealously espoused its cause. On the roll of its officers, are
emblazoned the names of the most popular leaders of rival poli
tical parties. The Legislatures of fourteen States have passed
resolutions in its favor. The highest ecclesiastical judicatories,
of almost every religious denomination, have recommended it to
the patronage of their churches. Politicians have declaimed,
ministers have preached, and Christians have prayed in its behalf.
To promote its objects, liberal contributions have been made
from the coffers of the nation, and the pockets of individuals.
Under color of providing for the removal to Africa, of about three
hundred recaptured negroes, the general government appro
priated 130,000 dollars, which were "applied to an object affil
i iated to our design, and essentially, though collaterally, contrib
uting to its advancement ; the sending out of agents of the
United States to the African coast, and the transportation of
persons in the public ships. By these means we have obtained,
; in fact, all we could have expected to gain, had Congress de-
; cided to aid our enterprise." Speech of Gen. Harper, lih Rep.,
p. 12.
i Since 1820, $220,449 have been poured into the treasury. If
to this be added $45,645, the debt due by the Society at the

80 jay's WORKS.
beginning of 1834, we have a total of $266,094 expended, inde-
pendent of the $130,000 paid by government. Such have been
the pecuniary means of the Society ; and now let us see how far
its "moral influence" has progressed in freeing the country of
its millions of slaves. Since December, 1816, when the Society
was organized, to the present time (1st of January, 1835,) it
has transported eight hundred and nine manumitted slaves to
Africa — equal to the increase of the slave population for^we and
a half days ! But it will be said that some years elapsed before
the Society was in a capacity to transport emigrants. Be it so;
let us inquire, then, how many manumitted slaves have been
sent out the last five years. In 1830-33, six hundred and
sixty-six were transported ; in 1834, none,* making a removal
on an average, of less than the increase of one day in eachyearl
In the eighteenth year of the Society's existence, it finds itself
compelled to pause and rest, after the mighty effort of arresting
the increase of the slave population for five days and a half.
Such are the results of the moral influence about which we
have heard so much. And upon whom has this influence oper
ated ? Surely upon those who were most within its sphere, the
presidents, vice presidents, and managers of the Society. Unfor
tunately, facts do not confirm this very natural supposition.
Judge Washington was President of the Society, from its' first
organization, till his death in 1829. In a letter to the Society,
he observed : " We may fairly hope it will lead to the sure bat
gradual abolition of slavery." Afr. Rep., YLT, p. 20.
Whatever were the hopes of this gentleman, he was personally
beyond the roach of the Society's moral influence. In a pub
lished letter in 1821, after stating that his slaves had got the
idea that as nephew to General Washington, or President of the
Colonization Society, he could not hold them in bondage, he
adds, "I called the negroes together in March last, and after
stating to them what I had heard, I assured them that I had no
intention to give freedom to any of them."
* In 1834, the Philadelphia Society sent out one hundred and ten slaves,
manumitted by the will of then- master, who also left two thousand W
hundred dollars for their transportation. The Society, at the same time,
gave a passage to fourteen emigrants for the Parent Institution, free of
axpense.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 81
The judge was as good as his word. He did indeed shortly
after part -with fifty-four of his slaves, but it was not to the agent
of the Society, to be transported to Liberia, but to a slave-
dealer, to be shipped to New Orleans. Mr. Carroll, a large
slave-holder, succeeded to the presidential chair, but for aught
that appears to the contrary, neither he nor Mr. Madison, the
present incumbent, ever liberated a single slave. Mr. Clay, a
vice president, publicly intimated that he did not intend to send
his slaves to Africa. Mr. Fitzhugh, another vice president, the
proprietor of " numerous slaves," speaking of slavery, remarked :
" No plea can be urged in justification of its conthiuance but the
plea of necessity." Afr. Rep., V, p. 354.
The will of this gentleman, who died in 1830, is a singular
comment on this plea of necessity. The following extract is
given in the African Repository under the head of
PHILANTHROPIC EXAMPLE.
_" After the year 1850, 1 leave all my negroes unconditionally free,
with the privilege of having the expenses of their removal to whatever
places of residence they may select, defrayed. If they consent to go
to the Colony, (Liberia,) they are to be paid fifty dollars each on their
arrival." Afr. Rep., VI, 247.
It will be perceived that the testator believed in the "neces
sity" of requiring his slaves to toil for twenty years for his heirs,
after he himself was in the grave, before they could be permit
ted to labor for themselves ; and also the necessity of leaving
the children who might be born of these slaves in the twenty
years, in interminable bondage, for it will be observed that the
prospective manumission is confined to Mr. Fitzhugh's " negroes,"
and not to the children to be hereafter born. Should this phil
anthropic example be universally followed, in how many centu
ries would slavery cease ?
Mr. Custiss, well known as a zealous advocate of the Society,
in a speech before it thus exclaims :
" Lend us your aid to strike the fetters from the slave, and to spread
the enjoyment of unfettered freedom over the whole of our favored
and happy land." 7th Report, p. 13.

82 jay's WORKS.
Had Mr. Custiss applied to the Board for a passage for his
slaves to Liberia, the boon would unquestionably have been
granted. But such a boon was not the aid he desired. In the
New York Commercial Advertiser of January 31, 1829, it is
stated that Philip Lee, the son of General Washington's favor
ite servant, is the slave of Mr. Custiss, the adopted son of
Washington : that Philip is a pious, faithful, and in all respects
an exemplary man, and has a wife and children, to whom he is
tenderly attached; and that $1,000 are required to deliver
Philip and his family from slavery. " Much interest has been
excited in the District of Columbia, where it is supposed one
half of the sum required will be raised." The paper farther
states, that $121 had been subscribed in New York.
In the appendix at the 15th Report, p. 41, is a list of per
sons who have manumitted slaves to be sent to Liberia. The
list does not profess to give all, but contains fifteen names, and
it is remarkable that the name of any one present or former
officer of the American Colonization Society is not to be found
among them, with the exception of Mr. Fitzhugh, who is in
cluded, on account of his testamentary devise.
We will not assert that no officer of the Society has ever
parted with a slave that he might go to the Colony : but we do
say, that although our acquaintance with colonization documents
is not superficial, we have met with no record of such a "phil
anthropic example."
If such be the impotency of the moral influence of the Soci
ety upon its officers, its orators and advocates, what will be its
power on slave-holders generally ?
But let us suppose, what we all know to be untrue, that every
slave-holder in our country is in very deed anxious to get rid of
his slaves, and that the whole slave population is now and wi
continue to be at the disposal of the Society, and we ask, can
this population be transported to Africa, and there maintained?
We have seen that before any impression can be made on its
present amount, its increase, rising to more than fifty-four thou
sand annually, must be removed. But it is surely not to be re
moved, merely to perish by famine in the .wilderness. In the

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 83
ordinary calculations of the expense of carrying these people to
Africa, they seem to be considered only as articles of freight,
which are to be delivered at Liberia at so much per piece.
Thirty dollars are usually assumed as the cost of a passage ;
but let it be recollected that after they arrive, houses, imple
ments of husbandry, food and clothing for at least one year must
be provided for them. It is with difficulty a new colony can
provide for its own maintenance, and it is folly to suppose that
it can also provide for an annual influx of fifty thousand emi
grants, emigrants too, sunk in brutal ignorance, unaccustomed to
supply their own wants, and bringing with them nothing but the
rags on their backs. Place fifty thousand such persons in the
wilds of Africa, and they would be far more likely to starve
before the end of a year, than they would be at that time to
furnish the necessaries of life to fifty thousand more emigrants.
The Colony is now poor, and has only about three thousand in
habitants, and it is admitted (see 15th Rep., p. 10,) that an ad
dition of one thousand emigrants in any one year since its
establishment would have been fatal to it. How many years
then must elapse, before it can receive fifty-four thousand every
year ? and when that period arrives, what will then be the annu
al increase ? Admitting the whole marine and the whole treas
ury of the United States to be surrendered to the Society,
does any sane man believe that Liberia can be brought to such
a state of cultivation as to maintain an annual accession to her
population of fifty-four thousand in less than twenty-five years ?
But in the year 1860 the annual increase of slaves, instead of
fifty-four thousand, will be one hundred and four thousand ; and
unless the Society will then be able to transport more than this
mighty multitude, each year, it will not even diminish the pres
ent amount of the slave population !
In supposing the slave-holders ready to colonize their slaves,
we have given full effect to the reiterated assertions of coloniza
tionists on this subject. These gentlemen are fond of repre
senting the Southern masters as unfortunately burthened with a
grievous load, which they are impatient to shake off ; and from
which no other human agency than the Society can possibly

84 jay's WORKS.
relieve them. Granting the premises, we see what sort of re
lief the Society is capable of affording. We have intentionally
removed one difficulty, that we might consider another. Let us
now reverse the supposition, and admitting the ability of the
Society immediately to transport to Africa, and there maintam
all the slaves in the United States, let us inquire how the con
sent of the masters is to be obtained.
Let it be remembered that the Society has studiously avoided
every measure to obtain such consent, and boasts that it ad
dresses arguments to no master. But if we are to believe col
onizationists, no arguments are necessary to induce the masters
to liberate their slaves. Our sympathy is perpetually demanded,
not for the slave, but his unfortunate master, who is imploring
the Society to deliver him from the curse entailed upon him by
his ancestors ! So far from slave-holders wishing to abohsh sla
very, they are endeavoring to transmit it as a precious inheri
tance to their latest posterity. As we have already observed,
we do not solicit the reader's belief, in any assertion we may
make, until we have demonstrated its truth ; and we assert that
there is a general disposition among slave-holders, to perpetuate
slavery. We know, and cheerfully acknowledge, that there are
exceptions, but we believe they are exceedingly rare. The
whole tendency of slave legislation is to rivet the chains of its
victims. Hence the cruel obstacles it raises to manumission,
and the wicked efforts it makes to brutalize the human mind,
But not contented with holding their own slaves with an iron
grasp, they have striven, and with woful success, to extend the
curse beyond their own borders. When Missouri was to he ad
mitted into the Union, every slave representative in Congress,
witliout one solitary exception, colonizationist or not, voted to
render it a slave State. So anxious was Virginia to strengthen
the slave interest, that rebellion and civil war were the price she
was willing to pay for another mart in human flesh. Her House
of Delegates
" Resolved, that the General Assembly of Virginia will support the
good people of Missouri in their just rights, and admission into the
Union, and will cooperate with them in resisting with mahW

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 85
fortitude any attempt which Congress may make to impose re
straints or restrictions on the price of their admission, not authorized
by the great principles of the Constitution, and in violation of their
rights, liberty, and happiness ! "
General Charles C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, in a public
address, delivered in 1824, maintained that slavery, as it exists
in that State, is
" No greater or more unusual evil than befalls the poor in general ; that
its extinction would be attended with calamity to the country, and to
the people connected with it, in every character and relation ; that no
necessity exists for such extinction ; that slavery is sanctioned by the
Mosaic dispensation ; that it is a fulfilment of the denunciation pro
nounced against the second son of Noah ; that it is not inconsistent
with the genius and spirit of Christianity, nor considered by St. Paul
as a moral evil." Address before the Agricultural Society of South
Carolina. Governor Miller, of South Carolina, in his message to the
Legislature in 1829, remarks :
" Slavery is not a national evil ; on the contrary, it is a national
benefit. Slavery exists in some form every where, and it is not of
much cohsequence, in & philosophical point of view, whether it be vol
untary or involuntary. In a political point of view, involuntary slavery
has the advantage, since all who enjoy political liberty are then in fact
free." It gives us pleasure to state, that the African Repository pro
nounces the doctrines of Messrs. Pinckney and Miller " abom
inable." We have explained in our introduction the tacit com
pact by which colonizationists are never to defend slavery in the
abstract, nor condemn it in particulars. A scrupulous observ
ance of this compact enabled the Repository to exclaim, with
great truth, when accused of hostility to slave-holders,
" Have we sought to render the owners of slaves odious, by retailing
anecdotes of their cruelty ? Every honorable man will do us the jus
tice to answer no." Afr. Rep., IV, p. 59.
But the question is, not what Mr. Gurley thinks of these doc
trines, but how they are regarded by slave-holders. Now there
is no evidence that General Pinckney's rank in Carolina society
was affected by his " abominable^' doctrines ; on the contrary,
8*

86 jay's works.
judging from the eulogium pronounced at his decease, he was
regarded as one of the most distinguished and pious members of
the slave-holding community. And so far were the people of
Carolina from being offended by the " abominable " doctrines of
their governor, that after his term of service expired, they
elected him to the Senate of the United States.
Governor Hayne, of the same State, in his message to the
Legislature (1833,) labors to prove that slavery adds to the
military strength of a nation, and concludes with declaring that
" The existence of slavery in the South is not only to be regarded
as an evil not to be deplored, but that it brings along corresponding ad
vantages, in elevating the character, contributing to the wealth, en
larging the resources, and adding to the strength of the State in which
it exists." It must be confessed, these are strange sentiments to he ad
vanced by the chief magistrates of a people who regard slavery
as a curse, and are anxious to colonize their slaves. Let us now
attend to the official declarations of the present Governor of
South Carolina, and see what comment they afford on the sup
posed desire of the slave-holders to get rid of then- slaves, a
supposition on which the whole theory of abolition by colonization
is founded. "It is demonstrable that cotton could not be produced by the labor
of hired freemen, for double the average price it has commanded for
ten years past. It is obvious that the abolition of that kind of labor
which is the basis of our wealth and prosperity, would annihilate, at a
single blow, that entire branch of foreign commerce which brings
the industry of the exporting States into competition with that of
the manufacturing States. I am thoroughly convinced that the
institution of domestic slavery, paradoxical as it may seem, is anindh-
pensable element in an unmixed representative republic. How saceeh
is otjr obligation to provide for our posterity all the necessary
means of defending and preserving an institution as essential to their
existence and to their hberty, as it is obnoxious to the prejudices of
those who have the greatest possible facilities -for assailing it." Inau
gural Speech, Dec, 1834. °
In December last, a lecture on "Domestic Slavery," «
delivered before " the Law Class of William and Mary College,"

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 87
and published in the Southern Literary Messenger, for January,
1835. The following introductory passage will help to show the
feeling that is cherished at the South :
" This subject, (slavery,) is too interesting to be passed in silence.
The time too is rife with proofs, that unless we mean tamely to surren
der a most important interest, we must hold ourselves always on the
alert to DEFEND it with tongue and pen."
A few years since, the State of Louisiana passed a law, pro
hibiting the importation of slaves from other States, but the
extension of the sugar cultivation demanding more labor, the law
was repealed in 1833, and this State is nowimporting multitudes
of slaves from Maryland and Virginia. ~ Soon after the repeal of
the law, two thousand were offered for sale in New Orleans, in
the course of a single week.
We may judge how anxious the people of Louisiana are to
send their slaves to Africa, from the following notice of a late
sale hi New Orleans :
Willis, 18 years old, brought  $1400
Jack, 29 " "  1200
Adam, 20 " "  -  1300
Tom, 16 " "  1175
Dick, 30 " "  1000
Bill, 14 " "  660
Malinda, 29 « "  500
A letter from an intelligent gentleman, personally acquainted
with the state of slavery at Natchez, says :
" The prospects of the blacks in the South-west, are gloomy in the
extreme. Cotton can be afforded at 6 cents per pound; last year,
(1832,) it was worth from 9 to 13 cents; this year it is worth from 14
to 18 cents. Last year about 1000 negroes were sold in Natchez, and
, I am confident 1500 will be disposed of in that market this year. In
my opinion, the slaves, if ever free, will owe their hberty to their own
j strength and the blessing of Heaven ; for their masters, as a Methodist
'¦ minister once expressed it, think only of making more cotton, to buy
more negroes, to make more cotton to buy more negroes."
. So far are masters from wishing to send their negroes to
! Africa, that they are continually increasing their stock, and

88 jay's works.
hence slaves are rising in value. A late Georgia paper an
nounces, that at a sale of seventy-one negroes, of all ages and
kinds, the average price was $438.
A convention has recently been held in Tennessee, for amend
ing the State Constitution, and one amendment is, a prohibition
to the Legislature to abohsh slavery.
The Augusta Chronicle, (Geo.) of Oct., 1833, says :
" We firmly believe, that if the Southern States do not quickly unite
and declare to the North, if the question of slavery be longer discussed
in any shape, they will instantly secede from the Union ; that the
question must be settled, and very soon, by the sword, as the only
possible means" of self-preservation."
The Richmond Inquirer and the Washington Globe are .both
mightily indignant at the proposition that Congress should
abolisH slavery in the District of Columbia.
So far is it from being true, as stated by colonizationists, that
the South is ready to surrender its slaves, that every day affords
new proofs that the public sentiment both at the North and the
South, is now more tolerant to slavery than at any other period
during the last thirty years. Who believes that even ten years
ago any Connecticut Legislature would have ventured to pass
the Black Act ? or that Judge Daggett himself would have pro
nounced his portentous and extraordinary opinion ? At what
time, before the influence of the Colonization Society was felt
throughout our land, did the citizens of the North merit or
receive such commendations from the slave press as the fol
lowing ?
" Public sentiment at the North, in reference to Southern interests,
was never in a sounder state than it is now. The language of the
Northern press is cheering in the extreme ; the feeling in favor of the
South, and against ihe abolitionists, is deep and almost universal.
Charleston Courier, 21st July, 1834.
When, until late years, have the Governors of even slave
States, dared to promulgate such " abominable " doctrines as
those we have quoted ?
Unless we greatly deceive ourselves, have now shown that

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 89
no desire exists at the South to get rid of slavery, at least to
such an extent as to render colonization in the remotest degree
instrumental in abolishing it ; and it is an unquestioned fact,
that in eighteen year's only about 900 manumitted slaves have
been sent to Africa. But certain laws have been recently passed
by Virginia and Maryland, which are triumphantly cited by
colonizationists as proofs of the growing desire at the South to
abolish slavery, — a desire which is attributed to the influence
of the Society.
The law of Virginia appropriates $18,000 a year for five
years, for the transportation of colored persons to Africa. Now
it is evident that the effect of this law upon slavery in Virginia,
must depend on the class of colored persons to be transported.
Will it be believed that this law, received with such joy and
triumph by colonizationists, confines the application of its appro
priation to the removal of such blacks as were free at the date of
its passage ? In other words, it declares to the slave-holders,
" We will not assist you in manumitting your slaves." By a
previous law, any manumitted slave, who does not leave the State
in twelve months, becomes again a slave : this new law provides
that such a manumitted slave shall not he sent to Africa, — of
course it affords no possible inducement or facility whatever to
manumission ; and its whole operation is confined to the removal
of nuisances, — and we have already seen, from the avowal of
members of the Legislature, that this removal is virtually to be
compulsory. The philanthropy that rejoices in such a law, is
indeed of a peculiar cast, but it is the philanthropy of "the
benevolent colonization system." *
The Maryland law of 1832 appropriates $200,000 to be
applied through the agency of the Maryland Colonization Society,
to the removal to Africa, of "the people of color now free, and
such as shall hereafter become so."

*A party writer, in a late number of the Richmond Enquirer, says : " An
opposition man, who stated in the spring, that he considered the removal of
the deposits as affecting the value of his property thirty per cent., admits
now, that he never saw a more wholesome state op things ; negro boys
and men will fetch from #600 to #700." Is Virginia sick of this wholesome
state of things ?

90 jay's WORKS.
On the 20th of January, 1833, the American Colonization
Society " Resolved, that the Society view with the highest gratification, the
continued efforts of the State of Maryland to accomplish herpatriotic
ana benevolent system in regard to her colored population ; and ¦
that the last appropriation by that State of $200,000 in aid of African
Colonization, is hailed by the friends of the system as a bright ex
ample to other States."
Let us now examine this " benevolent system," this " bright
example," and see how it accords with Christian love and sin
cerity. In forming our opinion of the true character of this scheme, it
will not be improper to take into consideration the avowed
motives which gave it birth. The Legislature, in their session
of 1831, adopted the following resolutions :
" Resolved, that the increased proportion of the free people of color,
in this State, to the white population — the evils growing out of their
connection and unrestrained association with the slaves, their habits and
manner of obtaining a subsistence, and their withdrawing a large
portion of employment from the laboring class of the white population,
axe subjects of momentous and grave consideration to the good people
of this State.
" Resolved, that as philanthropists and lovers of freedom, we deplore
the existence of slavery among us, and would use our utmost exertions
to ameliorate its condition : yet we consider the unrestricted power of
manumission as fraught with ultimate evils, of a more dangerous tendency
than the circumstance of slavery alone ; and that any act, having for
its object the mitigation of these joint evils, not inconsistent with other
paramount considerations, would be worthy the attention and deliber
ation of the representatives of a free, Hberal-minded and enlightened
people." Another resolution followed, declaring that, by the coloniza
tion of free people of color in Africa, " these evils may be
measurably diminished, and a committee was appointed to frame
a bill upon "the principles" of these resolutions.
Such, then, are the principles of the Maryland benevolent
system ; and which of them is derived from the gospel of Christ?
So far as the system relates to the free blacks, it proposes their re
moval, not out of kindness to them, but because they are supposed
to be injurious to slave property ; because their habits and manner

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 91
of obtaining a subsistence, the necessary results of wicked laws,
are vicious ; and because they enter into competition with white
laborers. This last accusation against the free blacks, is a most
extraordinary one, when made by a people who keep in their
employment more than one hundred thousand black
laborers, who toil without wages, and subsist on the scantiest
fare ; and yet the interference of these laborers with " the labor
ing class of the white population," occasions no uneasiness, and
leads to no plan for their removal. And what are the principles
of this system with regard to slaves ? Why, that it is worse to
give a slave his hberty here, than to keep him in bondage ; but
at the same time, that " the utmost exertions " ought to be made
to " ameliorate his condition." Let us now proceed to the prac
tical application of these principles. At the next session, a re
port was presented, in which calculations are entered into, to
show that " the whole of this population (of free blacks) can
be removed in the course of one generation alone." But the
legislators are philanthropists and lovers of freedom, and deplore
the existence of slavery. Let us see how the committee propose
to remove this deplored evil. The report says of the slaves
" they are property, and must be so regarded, and without their
owners' consent, none of them can be touched."
Here we have a principle which secures to Maryland the bless
ings of slavery forever. In no country in the world, in ancient
or modern times, has slavery been abolished by the unani
mous consent of slave-holders. Never has it been peaceably
abolished but by law. The Northern and Eastern States could
abolish slavery without the consent of the owners : the Republi
can States of South America could do the same : the Legislature
of Maryland can rule fifty thousand of their free colored cit
izens with a rod of iron, can deny them the most common and
inestimable rights of humanity ; but it cannot rescue a human
being from unmerited and involuntary bondage !
Let us now turn to the famous appropriation act. By this act,
masters are allowed to manumit their slaves, but then the man
umitted slaves are to be transported beyond the limits of the
State ; and should a parent or a child, a husband or a wife,

92 jay's works.
shudder at parting forever from a near and dear relative, the
separation may be avoided by a renunciation, in open court, of
the newly acquired hberty, and a public consent to continue a
slave '. Such is the bearing of this benevolent system on slavery.
Let us now contemplate its effects on the free blacks. The
appropriation bill authorizes no compulsion, and imposes no
penalties on a refusal to go to Africa. It was not expedient
that this bill should contain such provisions, and therefore they
were inserted in another bill passed by the same Legislature,
and within two days of the other, entitled, " An act, relating to
free negroes_and slaves." This act, like the Connecticut Black
Act, is a bold and flagrant violation of the constitutional rights
of free citizens. A citizen of New York, if his complexion be
colored, may not visit a dying child or parent in Maryland,
without incurring a penalty of fifty dollars for every week he
remains, and if he is unable to pay the fine, why then he is to
be sold by the sheriff at public sale for such time as may be neces
sary to cover the aforesaid penalty. But if a free negro is sold
for a limited time, he is, in fact, sold for life. During the
term for which he is sold, he is a chattel, and maybe transported
at the pleasure of his master ; and when the expiration of his
term finds him in a cotton field in Missouri, or a sugar mill hi
Louisiana, who is to rescue him from interminable bondage?
Should a colored citizen of Maryland cross its boundary on
business, ever so urgent to himself and family, on returning to
his home, more than a month after, he also is liable to be seized
and sold, unless previous to his departure he had complied with
certain vexatious, legal formalities ; and which, from ignorance,
he would be extremely likely to neglect, or perform imperfectly.
A striking illustration of this "benevolent system" lately
occurred. A free colored man, living near the line of the Dis- !
trict of Columbia, petitioned the Maryland House of Delegates
for leave to bring his grandchild from the City of Washington,
The child had probably been left an orphan, and he naturally j
wished to take it into his own house. The petition was re
jected !
A brisk slave-trade is carried on between Maryland and the

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. -93
Southern States, and it is well known that free negroes are often
the victims of this trade ; instances occurring of whole families
being kidnapped. Under such circumstances, many would wish
to have the means of protecting, if necessary, the freedom of
themselves and children ;' but the new bill forbids them to keep
any military weapon, without a special license from a county
court, or city corporation ; a condition amounting virtually to a
total prohibition. No free negro may attend a religious meeting
not conducted by a white person.
As the law thus discourages, and in a great measure prohibits
religious instruction, exhortation, and social prayer, among fifty
thousand of the population of Maryland, no wonder it presumes
every one of that fifty thousand to be a thief. Hence no person
may, under the penalty of five dollars, buy of a free negro " any
bacon, pork, beef, mutton, corn, wheat, tobacco, rye, or oats,"
unless he shall at the time exhibit a certificate from a Justice of
the Peace, or three respectable persons, that he or they believe
the said negro came honestly by the identical article offered for
sale. Such are some of the features of the law, and they are well
calculated to induce the free negroes to avail themselves of the
benevolent and munificent provision made by the other law for
their transportation to Africa. The concluding section, however,
is the most operative of the whole, and promises to afford ample
employment for the two hundred thousand dollars, and to furnish
Liberia with an abundant population. It is as follows :
"Sect. 12. And be it enacted, that if any free negro or mulatto shall
be convicted of any crime, committed after the passage of this act,
which may not, under the laws of this State, be punished by hanging
by the neck, such free negro or mulatto may, in the discretion of the
court, be sentenced to the penalties and punishments now provided by
law, or be banished from this State, or be transported into some
) foreign country."
i Hence, if a free negro steals a pound of tobacco, he may be
shipped off to Liberia. In civilized countries, it has been the
aim of the Legislature, to apportion punishments to crimes, but
i Maryland has set " a bright example " of a simplification of the
9

94 jay's works.
criminal code, without a parallel in the history of jurisprudence.
She tells her judges, " in the case of free black offenders, you
need give yourselves no trouble in comparing the different shades
of guilt, and weighing those circumstances which aggravate or
mitigate the offence. In certain cases, you must hang them ; in
all others, without exception, you may send them to Africa."
This is the " benevolent system," the " bright example " lauded
by the American Colonization Society. This is the system
which is cited as a proof that Maryland desires to abolish slavery.
A symptom of this desire occurred in the Maryland House of
Delegates, in 1834. Mr. Mann moved an inquiry into the expe
diency of abolishing slavery, after a certain period. So great
was the excitement produced by this motion, that the mover with
drew it, and the minute of the motion was expunged from the
journal. The $200,000, it seems, are entrusted to the Maryland Colo
nization Society ; and that Society, wishing still farther to
increase its funds, has appealed to the benevolence of the North.
The appeal is founded on two solemn official declarations : first,
that it aims at the extirpation of slavery in Maryland, by coloni
zation ; and secondly, that it contemplates " founding a nation
on the principle of temperance."
We have seen that a committee of the Maryland Legislature
insisted on the possibility of the removal of the whole free black
population in one generation. The Society in their address,
- repeatedly declare their object to be the extirpation of slavery
by colonization ; and the Legislature forbids, as we have also
seen, manumission at home. Of course; slavery can only he
extirpated by the removal, not of a select portion, but of all the
slaves. In what terms ought we then to speak of the following resolu
tion of the Maryland Society, published to conciliate the friends
of temperance at the North ?
" Whereas it is desired that the settlement about to be made by this
Society, should, as far as practicable, become a moral and temperate
community ; and as this is to be effected, in a great degree, by the
character of the emigrants, who leave America for a new home in

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 95
Africa : and whereas, the sad experience of this country has shown the
demoralizing effects of the use of ardent spirits,
Be it resolved, that no emigrant shall be permitted to go from Mary
land to a settlement from this Society in Africa, who will not first bind
himself, or herself, to abstain therefrom."
So the Society is to carry to Africa 100,000 slaves, and thus
exterminate slavery in their State ; and yet they will positively
refuse to carry one of them until he has taken the temperance
pledge. But what if a portion of them will not consent to take
the pledge ? must slavery continue, or must means be taken to
coerce their consent ?
None but those wilfully blind, can examine this subject with
out seeing that the measures adopted by Virginia and Maryland
are mere contrivances to get rid of the free blacks ; and far
more disgraceful in the latter, than in the former case, because
more disguised by insincere professions.
The New York Journal of Commerce, a colonization paper,
had the candor in speaking on the subject, to remark, " It is true
these States do not propose to resort, in the first instance, to
compulsory measures ; but does any one doubt that they will
resort to such measures, if the number of volunteer emigrants
should not be sufficient to exhaust the appropriations made for
their removal ? " And a Baltimore paper, (the Chronicle,)
_ alluding to the Maryland acts, avows, "The intention of those
laws was, and their effect must be, to expel the free people of
color from the State."
Yet do these cruel and perfidious measures receive the support
and approbation of the Colonization Society.
There is still a powerful objection to the whole colonization
scheme, as a means of removing slavery, to which we have not
yet adverted. No principle of political economy is more obvious
than that prices depend on supply and demand. If the first is
diminished, while the latter is increased, or even remains station
ary, prices necessarily rise. We can all understand, that should
half the sheep in the United States be suddenly destroyed, or
carried out of the country, the value of the remaining half
would instantly be enhanced. So also, we have no difficulty in

96 jay's works.
seeing, that should the cholera sweep off from the Southern
plantations, two or three hundred thousand slaves, there would
be an increased activity in the man-market, and human flesh
would rise many per cent, in price. Yet it seems never to occur
to colonizationists, that were it possible for them to produce any
sensible diminution of the slaves by transportation, the same
consequences would follow. The Society proposes reducing the
number of laborers, but without diminishing the demand for
them. Let us suppose every free negro safely landed at Libe
ria — of course all the laborers remaining in the cotton and
sugar-fields of the South, are slaves. Now the Society is grad
ually sending away these slaves, not by freeing at once any town
or county from them, but by picking them up throughout the
whole slave-region, as it can meet with conscientious masters ;
taking a few in one place, and a few in another ; now stripping
a plantation of its slaves in Virginia, and now in Missouri.
This indiscriminate mode of obtaining emigrants, necessarily and
absolutely prevents the substitution of white for black labor.
The plantations thus divested of laborers, must remain barren
till new slaves are procured. But the proprietor is too consci
entious to buy any, and is hence compelled to sell his estate.
The purchaser immediately goes into the market to re-stock the
farm. Others do the same, and hence arises a new demand for
slaves, and of course an increase of their value. But as slaves
grow more and more valuable, the disposition to make presents
of them to the Colonization Society will decline. Thus does
the inevitable mercantile operation of the Society, independent
of all moral considerations, necessarily tend to defeat its object.
The idea of abolishing slavery, by increasing the demand for
slaves, is about as wise, as would be a plan for lessening the
circulation of infidel books, by raising a fund for their purchase.
We have now examined the means by which the Society
proposes to effect the removal of slavery, and trust we have
shown their utter worthlessness. Were the impracticability of
this scheme its only objection, the friends of humanity and reli
gion would not be called on, as they now are, to meet it with
unrelenting hostility — to labor without rest, and without weari-

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 97
ness, for its entire prostration. Alas, though powerless for good,
it is mighty for evil ; and its baneful influence is leading multi
tudes of good and well-intentioned men, unconsciously to coun
tenance doctrines and measures, necessarily tending to perpetuate
slavery and all its abominations in our land. This is an asser
tion that ought not rashly to be made nor hastily believed. We
appeal to common sense and undisputed facts.
Admitting that colonization could, in the course of ages,
extirpate slavery, ought we, therefore, to reject every means of
shortening the sufferings of the slave, by hastening his libera
tion? But colonizationists, not content with insisting on the
efficiency of their own plan, discourage and oppose every other.
Now should their plan prove delusive, after the lapse of centuries,
their influence in preventing the adoption of any other, will
have been fatal, as far as it may have gone, to the freedom of
millions. " It (colonization) is the only possible mode of emancipation at
once safe, and rational, that human ingenuity can devise." Speech of
Mr. Custiss. 13th Report, p. 8.
" Colonization is the only expedient by which these evils can be
mitigated." Speech of J. A. Dix. Afr. Rep., IV, 168.
" To this country it offers the only possible means of gradually rid
ding ourselves of a mighty evil." 1st Rep., N Y. Colonization Society.
" The colonizing scheme, leading as it does to voluntary manumission,
is the only one which true wisdom can dictate." Speech of Mr. Key,
Vice President. Afr. Rep., IV, p. 299.
" I would urge this system of colonization upon your notice, as the
only rational plan which has yet been suggested for relieving our
Southern brethren from the curse of slavery." Speech of Chancellor
Walworth of N. Y.
" The only rational and practical plan ever devised for the emanci
pation of the slaves of independent States." V. Y. Courier and En
quirer, 12th Mayf 1834, a colonization paper.
" This great end (abolition) is to be attained in no other way than
by a plan of extensive colonization." Letter of R. G. Harper, Vice
President. 2d Rep., p. 3.
" In our opinion, the Colonization Society presents the only safe and
feasible plan for the liberation of our slaves from bondage." Report
of Wilmington Col. Society. Afr. Rep., IX, 319.
9*

98 jay's works.
We have seen the nature and extent of the moral influence of
this only rational plan in favor of abolition ; let us now examine
that which it exerts in behalf of slavery.
In the first place, we ask, what must be the natural effect on
public opinion of such disclaimers as the following ?
" It is no Abolition Society ; it addresses, as yet, arguments to no
master. It denies the design of attempting emancipation, partial or
general." Address of J. B. Harrison to Lynchburgh Col, Society. Afr.
Rep., Ill, 197.
" Into their (the Society's) accounts, the subject of emancipation
does not enter at all." Afr. Rep., IV, p. 306.
" The friends .of colonization wish to be distinctly understood on
this point. From the beginning, they have disavowed, and they do yet
disavow, that their object is the emancipation of slaves." Speech of J.
S. Green, before the New Jersey Society.
" From its origin, and throughout the whole period of its existence,
it has constantly disclaimed all intention whatever of interfering in the
smallest degree with the rights of property, or the object of emanci
pation, gradual or immediate." Speech of Mr. Clay, Vice President.
Afr. Rep., VI, p. 13.
" Recognizing the constitutional and legitimate existence of slavery,
it seeks not to interfere, directly or indirectly, with the rights it creates."
Afr. Rep., LU, p. 16.
" He considered himself publicly pledged, so long as he had any
thing to do with the Society, to resist every attempt to connect it with
emancipation, either in theory or practice." Speech of Gen. Jones, a
Manager of the Am. Col. Soc, 23d Jan., 1834. ,
" The emancipation of slaves, or the amelioration of their condition,
with the moral, intellectual, and political improvement of the people of
color within the United States, are objects foreign to the powers of
this Society." Address of the Board of Manaqers to its Auxiliaries.
Afr. Rep., VH, p. 291.
Thus we see the friends of the Society utterly deny that
emancipation, partial or general, gradual or immediate, direct or
indirect, in theory or in practice, is included among its objects ;
and yet the Society " is the only possible mode of emancipation
at once safe and rational, that human ingenuity can devise!"
A worthy vice president of the Society, Mr. G. Smith,
remarked :
_ » They who denounce us for not favoring or promoting the emancipa
tion of slaves, might just as well denounce the Bible or Temperance
Society, because they do not step out of their respective spheres, to
favor or promote the emancipation of slaves." Afr. Rep. IX p. 358.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 99
But what if a Bible or a Temperance Society should announce
itself to the world, as about to abolish slavery ; should declare
itself to be the only possible instrument by which slavery could
be abolished ; and should oppose and ridicule the employment of
any other instrument, and should then falsify all its professions,
and exert its influence to justify and perpetuate slavery?
Instead of denouncing the Society for not stepping out of its
sphere' to favor or promote the emancipation of slaves, we
denounce it for leaving that sphere, and for favoring and pro
moting continued slavery. The professed constitutional object of
the Society, is the colonization of free blacks and manumitted
slaves. We fully admit, it has no more right to meddle with
emancipation or slavery, than a Bible Society ; and we condemn
it, because disregarding its professed object, and in utter contempt
of its own constitution, it has lent itself to support and perpetu
ate a system of cruelty and wickedness. It is painful to make
these assertions, but duty requires them, and facts justify them.
We will now proceed to show that the Society (and by the term
we intend colonizationists generally) has stepped out of its sphere
to acknowledge that man may have property in man ; to justify
him for holding this property ; and to vilify all who would per
suade him instantly to surrender it.
" We hold their slaves, as we hold their other property, sacred."
Speech of J. S. Green, before New Jersey Colonization Society. Afr.
Rep., I, p. 283.
" To the slave-holder, they (the Society) address themselves in a
tone of conciliation and sympathy. We know your rights, say they,
and we respect them." Afr. Rep., VII, p. 100.
" The rights of the masters are to remain sacred in the eyes of the
Society." Address of Rockbridge Col. Soc. Afr. Rep., IV, p. 274.
" We decline assenting to the opinion of some abolitionists, that
though the master's right over his living slaves should be conceded, yet
he has no claim of property in the unborn, for the reason that there
can be no property in a thing not in esse. This position is wholly
untenable, under any jurisprudence." Am. Quar. Review, transferred
to Afr. Rep., IX, p. 35.
The right of property in human flesh, cannot surely be more
sacred than that in rum ; and yet it would sound strange, to
hear a religious society addressing the rum-seller in a tone of

100 jay's works.
conciliation and sympathy, and assuring him that they regarded
his property in rum as sacred, and respected his right to traffic
in it.
If it be a question whether man can lawfully have property
in man, who authorized the Society to settle it ? That it is a
question, is evident from the following exclamation of Lord
Chancellor Brougham, in one of his speeches : " Talk Dot of
the property of the planter in his slaves. I deny the right — I
acknowledge not the property." And yet the right of the West
Indian and the Virginia planter, rested on precisely the same
basis, the sanction of human laws.
Not only does the Society acknowledge slaves to be property,
but it excuses and justifies those who hold this property.
No motive can operate so powerfully in inducing a master to
liberate his slaves, as the conviction that, by retaining them, he
is acting contrary to the will of his Maker, and exposing him
self to his displeasure.
In a manual of devotion, lately published by the excellent
Bishop Meade, of Virginia, himself a zealous colonizationist,
there is a prayer to be used by the head of a family. This
prayer, intended expressly for the slave-region, has this affecting
petition : " O heavenly Master, hear me while I lift up my heart
in prayer, for those unfortunate beings who call me master. 0
God, make known unto me my whole duty towards them and
their oppressed race, and give me courage and zeal to do it at
all events. Convince me of sin, if I be wrong in retaining them
another moment in bondage"
It is observable, that in this prayer, the slave-holder, when in
communion with his Maker, far from claiming a sacred right of
property in his fellow immortals, dares not make any claim to
them whatever, but alludes to them as those " who call me mas
ter." It is also obvious, that the question of immediate eman
cipation is pressing on his conscience, and fearful lest he is
committing sin in holding slaves " another moment," he implores
the Divine guidance. He will, of course, seek for light wherever
it may be found, and will naturally turn to the Colonization
Society, to learn the opinion of the eminent men who belon°- to

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 101
it, on this momentous subject. Now let us see what opiates
that Society administers to quiet his uneasy conscience, and to
lull it in profound repose.
First, he is assured, that by freeing his slaves, he would be
guilty of great inhumanity towards them.
" The very commencing act of freedom to the slave, is to place him
in a condition still worse, if possible, both for his moral habits, his out
ward provision, and for the community that embosoms him, than even
that, deplorable as it was, from which he has been removed." Address
to Col. Soc N. Carolina. Afr. Rep., Ill, p. 66.
" What but sorrow can we feel at the misguided piety which has set
so many of them free by death-bed devise, or sudden conviction of
injustice?" Address to Lynchburgh Col Soc. Afr. Rep., HI, p. 193.
" There are in the United States 238,000 blacks denominated free,
but whose freedom confers on them, we might say, no privilege but the
privilege of being more vicious and miserable than slaves can be." Rev.
Mr. Bacon, of New Haaen. 7th Rep., p. 99.
" Policy, and even the voice of humanity, forbade the progress of
manumission." Afr. Rep., IV, p. 268.
" It would be as humane to throw them from the decks in the middle
passage, as to set them free in our country." Afr. Rep., IV, p. 226.
Was Washington wanting in humanity, when he liberated all
his slaves ? and was he surpassed in benevolence by his nephew,
the President of the Society, who avowed his intention of never
giving freedom to any of his ? Was it " misguided piety " that
induced Jefferson to set his free by his last will ? Was it an
act of perfidious cruelty in the State of Georgia to purchase the
freedom of a slave, who had disclosed an intended conspiracy, —
thus under the pretence of rewarding him, perpetrating an act
as inhuman as throwing a fellow being from the decks in the
middle passage ? Is the recent act of North Carolina, in pay
ing $1800 for the freedom of a slave, who had, with singular
intrepidity, preserved a public building from fire, of the same
character ?
Much as we respect Mr. Bacon's character, we cannot but
believe, that could his sincerity be tested by his being com
pelled to choose between being a slave in Louisiana, or a free
black even in Canterbury, he would prefer the latter alternative.
It is the more remarkable, that Mr. Bacon should have been led

102 jay's works.
to make such unadvised assertions, when New Haven itself
afforded full proof of their incorrectness. Hear the testimony
of his estimable and distinguished fellow townsman, Professor
Silliman. " We need not look far from home to see the pleasing effects of the
benevolent and disinterested exertions of an eminent friend* of the
Africans, aided by a kindred spirit. It is delightful to the benevolent
mind, to see so many of our colored people living in neat and comfort
able dwellings, furnished in decent taste, and in sufficient fulness, thus
indicating sobriety, industry, and self-respect ; to see their children in
clean attire, hastening on a Sabbath morning to the Sunday school,
and on other days, with cheerful and intelligent faces, seeking the com
mon school." Silliman' 's 4th of July Oration, 1832.
The slave-holder is farther instructed by the Society, that the
continuance of slavery here, is at present, and under existing
circumstances, unavoidable, and that he is perfectly excusable
and innocent in keeping his fellow-men in bondage ; and that
all the cruel laws relative to slavery are right and proper. Is
all this calumny ? Attend to the testimony.
" Slavery is an evil entailed upon the present generation of slave
holders, which they must suffer, whether they will or not." African
Rep., V, p. 179.
" The existence of slavery among us, though not at all to be objected
to our Southern brethren, is a fault." Address of N. Y. Colonization
Society. Afr. Rep., YD., p. 136.
May we ask, how came the States of Missouri, Alabama, and
Mississippi, which within thirty years were nearly in a state of
nature, to be now thronged with slaves ?
" It (the Society) condemns no man because he is a slave-holder."
Editorial Article — Afr. Rep., YLT, p. 200.
" Acknowledging the necessity by which its (slavery) present con
tinuance, and rigorous provisions for its maintenance, are justified''
Afr. Rep., HI, p. 16.
" It is the business of the free, their safety requires it, to keep the
slaves in ignorance." Proceedings of New York Col. Soc, 2d Ann.
" The laws of Virginia now discourage, and very wisely, perhaps,
the emancipation of slaves." Speech of Mr. Mercer, V President, I
Rep. * The Rev. S. S. Jocelyn, an active and public opponent of the Coloniza
tion Society.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 103
"They-(the abolitionists) confound the misfortunes of one generation
with the crimes of another." Afr. Rep., VII, p. 202.
" We all know, from a variety of considerations which it is unneces
sary to name, and in consequence of the policy which is obliged to be
pursued in the Southern States, that it is extremely difficult to free a
slave ; and hence the enactment of those laws, which a fatal necessity
seems to demand." Afr. Rep., H, p. 12.
" I am not complaining of the owners of slaves : they cannot get rid ot
them." Address before Hampden Col. Soc. Afr. Rep., IV, p. 226.
" There are men in the Southern States who long to do something
effectual for the benefit of their slaves,_ and would gladly emancipate
them, did not prudence and compassion forbid such a measure." I
Rep., p. 100, App.
" Suppose the slaves of the South to have the knowledge of free
men — they would be free, or exterminated by the whites. This ren
ders it necessary to prevent their instruction, and to keep them from
Sunday Schools, or the means of gaining knowledge." Proceedings of
New York Col. Soc, 2d Ann Rep.
" The treatment of the slaves is in general as good as circumstances
and the cruel necessity of the case will permit." Proceedings of New
York Col. Soc, 2d Ann.
" We believe that there is not the slightest moral turpitude in holding
slaves, under existing circumstances, in the South." Afr. Rep.,
IX, p. 4.
Thus do we find the whole system of American slavery
justified on the tyrant's plea, necessity. But this is not all.
The scriptures themselves are wrested to confound those who
recommend abolition.
The President of the Geneva Colonization Society, S. M.
Hopkins, Esq., in an address delivered 5th of August, 1834,
and pubhshed by request of the Society, after citing various texts
to prove slavery warranted by the Bible, thus goes on :
" Here are then five places in the New Testament, where the duty
of servants (slaves) is expressly and formally treated by way ot precept,
and one case of example, making six in all. In every one, the duty of
obedience is insisted on, and in one or more, where the duty of mas
ters is treated, there is not the least reference ror hint of the idea, that
Christian masters should manumit their slaves ; much less that other
Christians should preach manumission. But I go farther ; as I under
stand the Epistle to Timothy, and as it is understood by such commen
tators as I have consulted, there is an express injunction, applicable to
those times and circumstances, not to preach manumission." *
* Mr. Hopkins professes to be opposed to slavery, all this Scripture to the
contrary notwithstanding.

104 jay's works.
We will not trouble ourselves at present with Mr. Hopkins's
theology ; but we may surely be permitted to inquire, how it
comes that the Constitution forbids colonizationists to recommend
and promote abolition, but gives them full liberty to oppose it ?
Why is the Constitution sacred, only when it guards the interests
and soothes the conscience of the slave-holder ? and why is it a
thing of nought, when colonizationists would empty the vials of
their wrath upon the heads of those who proclaim the sinfulness
of slavery, and the dutyand policy of immediate emancipation ? *
Let us now scrutinize a little this plea of necessity, which is
urged by colonizationists with so much confidence in behalf of
slavery. Does a Christian society, do ministers of the gospel of
Christ, maintain that it is ever necessary to violate the command
of Jehovah ? necessary to keep millions in ignorance of the
revealed will of God ? necessary to trample upon human rights,
and to outrage the plainest principles of justice and humanity ?
Do Protestants insist that it is necessary to deny the Bible to
more than one-third of the inhabitants of the Southern States ?
What necessity required that Missouri should be a slave State ?
What necessity multiplied the slaves in Alabama, and Missis
sippi from three thousand to one hundred and eighty-two thou
sand, since the year 1800 ? What necessity prevented Kentucky
from liberating her twelve thousand slaves in 1790, when New
York could liberate ten thousand in one day in 1827 ? What
necessity will render Florida and Arkansas slave States ? Why
did not necessity prevent the abolition of slavery in South
America, Mexico, and the West Indies ?
The Society, whose moral influence is to free us from slavery,
not only quiets the conscience of the slave-holder, by showing
the lawfulness of slavery, but it promises to enhance the value
of slave-labor, and to divest it of a portion of that danger which
* It is due to candor to state, that all the principles imputed in this work
to colonizationists, are not held by them indiscriminately. Afew individuals
have honorably and publicly disclaimed one or more of them. These dis
claimers have however been made, we believe, without an exception, since
the discussions excited by abolitionists. No doubt many members would in
dignantly reject the doctrines on which we have commented. The pious and
well-intentioned supporters of the Society, are just beginning to understand
its true character, and hence the numerous converts from colonization within
the last twelve months.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 105
usually attends it. Let us see how colonization promotes the
interests of slave-holders ; and let us attend, in the first instance,
to Mr. Archer, of Virginia.
" He was not one of those (however desirable it might be, and was in
abstract speculation) who looked to the complete removal of slavery
among us. If that consummation were to be considered feasible at all,
it was at a period too remote to warrant the expenditure of any resources
of contemplation or contribution now. The progress of slavery was
subjected to the action of a law of the utmost regularity of action.
Where this progress was neither stayed nor modified by causes of
collateral operation, it hastened with a frightful rapidity, disproportioned
entirely to the ordinary law of the advancement of population, to its
catastrophe, which was repletion.
" If none were drained away, slaves became, except under peculiar
circumstances of climate and production, inevitably and speedily re
dundant, first to the occasions of profitable employment, and as a con
sequence, to the facility of comfortable provision for them. No matter
what the humanity of the owners, fixed restriction on their resources
must transfer itself to the comfort and subsistence of the slave. At
this last stage, the evil in this form had to stop. When this stage had
been reached, what course or remedy remained ? Was open butchery
to be resorted to, as among the Spartans with the Helots ? or general
emancipation and incorporation, as in South America ? or abandon
ment of the country by the masters, as must come to be the case in
the West Indies ?
" Either of these was a deplorable catastrophe. Could all of them
be avoided, and if they could, how? There was but one way, but that
might be made effectual, fortunately. It was to provide and keep open
a drain for the excess of increase beyond the occasions of profitable
employment. This might be done effectually by extension of the plan of'
the Society. * * * * After the present class of free blacks had
been exhausted by the operation of the plan he was recommending,
others would be supplied for its action, in the proportion of the excess
of the colored population it would be necessary to throw off, by the
process of voluntary manumission or sale. This effect must result from
the depreciating value of the slaves, ensuing their disproportionate
multiplication. This depreciation would be relieved and retarded at
the same time by the process. It was on grounds of interest, therefore,
the most indispensable pecuniary interest, that he addressed him
self to the PEOPLE AND LEGISLATURES OF THE SLAVE-HOLDING
States." 15lh Report, p. 22.
However we may be surprised at the indiscretion of the
managers in printing and circulating this speech with their an
nual report, we cannot but admire its honest frankness. Here
is no colonization poetry, but plain, common-sense prose ; no
pictures of the African Elysium, — no anticipations of the con-
10

106 jay's works.
version of millions and millions of Pagans, but intelligent re
marks on the true means of perpetuating slavery, and keeping
up the price of slaves. Knowing the utter futility of abonshing
slavery by colonization, Mr. Archer will not expend on that
topic even his " contemplation." But the time will come when
negroes will be so plenty, that it will be difficult to find either
work or food for them ; and this state of things, if not prevented,
will lead to the abolition of slavery. But the Society may pre
vent such a result by sending off the free blacks, and after they
are gone, by sending off such slaves as may be manumitted ;
and by keeping open this drain, the undue multiplication of
slavery will be prevented, and their depreciation in the market
arrested. Let us now attend to the managers themselves. In the 2d
Report, p. 9, they declare that they confidently believe that the
" Colonization of the free people of color, will render the slave who
remains in America, more obedient, more faithful, more honest, and
consequently more useful to his master."
""By removing the most fruitful sources of discontent (free blacks)
from among our slaves, we should render them more industrious and
attentive to our commands." Address of Putnam (Georgia') Col.
Society. " What greater pledge can we give for the moderation and safety of
our measures, than our own interests as slave-holders, and the ties that
bind us to the slave-holding community to which we belong ? " Speech
of Mr. Key, Vice Pres. 11th Report, p. 14.
" The injury they (the free blacks) do to the slave-holder's property,
by their influence upon his servants, would, if valued, amount to more
than sufficient to convey them from us." Address of Rev. J. C.
Young to Col. Society. Afr. Rep., IX, 59.
" To remove these persons from among us, will increase the useful
ness, and improve the moral character of those who remain in servitude,
and with whose labors the country is unable to dispense." Address to a
N. Carolina Col. Soc. Afr. Rep., IH, 67.
" None are obliged to follow our example, and those who do not, will
find the value of their negroes increased, by the departure of ours."
Kentucky Luminary.
" The free negroes corrupt our slaves. From what has been adduced,
the expediency of removing this nuisance from the community is
clearly inferable, both in relation to their interests and ours • and this
can only be attained by means of the Colonization Society." Internal
Improvements of South Carolina, by Robert Mills, p. 15.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 107
So much for the moral" influence of the Society in abolishing
slavery, by rendering it profitable. Now for its agency in
rendering it safe.
" The tendency of the scheme, and one of its objects, is to secure
slave-holders, and the whole Southern country, against certain evil
consequences growing out of the present three-fold mixture of our
population." Address of a Virginian Col. Soc. Afr. Rep., IV, 274.
"By removing these people, (free blacks,) we rid ourselves of a
large party who will always be ready to assist our slaves in any mis
chievous design they may conceive." Address to a Col. Soc. in Vir
ginia. Afr. Rep., I, 176.
" Are they (the free blacks) Vipers sucking our blood ? We will
hurl them from us." Address to Lynchburg Col. Society. Afr. Rep.,
m, 201.
" By thus repressing the rapid increase of blacks, the white popula
tion would be enabled ,to reach, and soon overtop them ; the conse
quence would be security." Afr. Rep., IV, 344.
"The removal of every single free black in America, would be
productive of nothing but safety to the slave-holder." Afr. Rep.,
in, 202.
" So far from having a dangerous tendency, when properly consid
ered, it will be viewed as an additional guard to our peculiar species of
property." New Orleans Argus.
" They (the objects of the American Colonization Society) are in
the first place to aid ourselves, by relieving us from a species of pop
ulation (free blacks) pregnant with future danger." Speech of Gen.
Harper, Vice President. 7th Report, p. 7.
"I am a Virginian. I dread for her the corroding evil of this
numerous caste, (free blacks.) I tremble for the danger of a disaffec
tion spreading, through their seduction, among our servants." Address
of I. B. Harrison. Afr. Rep., HI, 197.
Thus does the Society aim at abolishing slavery, by declaring
it lawful, increasing its profits, and lessening its dangers ; and
as we shall presently see, covering with obloquy, and denouncing
as fanatics, all who dissent from its assertion, that this is " the
only possible mode " of relieving the country from slavery.
And why is it the only possible mode ? Because the laws of
most of the slave States prohibit manumission at home, and
therefore no master in those States could liberate his slaves, did
not the Society enable him to evade the law, by sending his
slaves to Africa ? But who made these laws ? Slave-holders.
Who alone can repeal thesfflaws ? Slave-holders. Then slave-

108 jay's works.
holders prevent themselves from liberating their slaves; and
hence it is optional with them to grant manumission or not. Of
course colonization is not the only possible mode of effecting
abolition, since the slave-holders, if they pleased, might easily
discover " a more excellent way."
It will not probably be denied, that he who recommends a
wicked act, or applauds it after it is committed, participates in
the guilt of it ; and as by the confession of colonizationists, the
laws in question prevent abolition, those who advise or approve
those laws, partake of the guilt of continuing slavery. Let us
now inquire in what relation the Colonization Society stands to
these laws.
In the first place, let it be recollected that several of the Legis
latures by whom these laws have been enacted, or by whom
they are kept in force, have decidedly approved of the Society.
Now listen to the official declaration of the Board of Managers.
" The managers could with no propriety depart from their original
and avowed purpose, and make emancipation their object. And they
would further say, that if they were not thus restrained by the terms
of their association, they would still consider any attempts to promote
the increase of the free colored population by manumission, unneces
sary, premature, and dangerous." Memorial of the American Col. Soc.
to the several State Legislatures. Afr. Rep., H, 60.
We find here an illustration of the remarks in our introduc
tion, on the convenient restraints of the Constitution. The man
agers are restrained from promoting emancipation by the Con
stitution, but they are at perfect liberty to promote the perman
ency of slavery, by denouncing manumission. And to whom is
this denunciation made ? To the very Legislatures who are
striving to effect the same object by the laws we have mentioned.
And yet colonizationists mourn over the misfortune of the mas
ter who is prevented by law from liberating his slaves ? But
perhaps the language we have quoted was used inadvertently,
and does not represent the sentiments of colonizationists gener
ally. Let us see.
" This law, (a law of Virginia, by which a manumitted negro becomes
again a slave if he remains twelve months in the State,) odious and
unjust as it may at first view appear, and hard as it may seem to bear

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 109
upon the liberated negro, was doubtless dictated by sound policy, and
its repeal would be regarded by none with more unfeigned regret than the
friends of African Colonization. It has restrained many masters from
giving freedom to their slaves, and has thereby contributed to check the
growth of an evil already too great and formidable." Memorial from
Powhattan Col. Soc. to Virginia Legislature.
" To set them (the slaves) loose among us, would be an evil more
intolerable than slavery itself." Report of Kentucky Col Society Afr.
Rep., VI, 81.
" As long as our present feelings and prejudices exist, the abolition
of slavery cannot be accomplished without the removal of the blacks."
2d Report N. York Soc.
" If the question were submitted, whether there should be either
immediate or gradual emancipation of all the slaves in the United
States, without their removal, painful as it is to express the opinion, I
have no doubt that it would be unwise to emancipate them." Speech
of Mr. Clay, Vice President, to Kentucky Soc. Afr. Rep., VI, 5.
Here we find a vice president of the Parent Society advocating
perpetual slavery in preference to even gradual emancipation.
" They (colonizationists) entertain the opinion generally, that if
universal emancipation were practicable, neither the interest of the
master, the happiness of the slave, nor the welfare of the colony which
they have at heart, would make it desirable." Mr. Barton's Address to
a Col. Soc. in Virginia. Afr. Rep., VI, 291.
" Kesolved, That we superadd our decided opinion that colonization
ought to keep equal pace with manumission of people of color through
out the United States." Proceedinqs of Col. Meetinq at Plaltsburqh,
N. York, 4th July, 1833.
" Any scheme of emancipation, without colonization, they know to
be productive of nothing but evil." Speech of Mr. Key, a Vice Presi
dent. Afr. Rep., IV, 300.
" We would say, liberate them only on condition of their going to
Africa or Hayti." Afr. Rep., HI, 26.
" I am strongly opposed to emancipation in every shape and
degree, unless accompanied by colonization." Letter from R. G.
Harper, Vice President, to Secretary of the Society, 20th August, 1817.
" It is a well-established point, that the public safety forbids either
the emancipation or the general instruction of the slaves." 7th Report,
p. 94. r
"So long as we can hold a pen, we will employ it heart and hand,
against the advocates of immediate emancipation, or any emancipation
that does not contemplate expatriation." N. Y. Courier and Enquirer,
a Col. paper, 10th July, 1834.
10*

110 jay's works.
" Emancipation, with liberty to remain on this side of the Atlantic,
is but an act of dreamy madness." Speech of Mr. Custiss, 13th
Report, p. 8.
" What right, I demand, have the children of Africa to a homestead
in the white man's country ? " Speech of Mr. Custiss, 14th Report,
p. 21.
It is a pity Mr. Custiss does not ask his conscience what right
he has to confine a child of Africa to a homestead on his own
plantation ; and why money was raised by public subscription
to purchase permission for Philip Lee to leave a homestead to
which he had no right.
What abundant cause for gratitude to Almighty God, have
the Northern States, that the colonization scheme was not devised
some forty years sooner. Had the doctrines taught by the Soci
ety been then held by our statesmen and divines, the dark cloud
of slavery would now be brooding over our whole land.
We have seen that the whole influence of the Society and of
the colonizing Legislatures, is to vindicate and preserve and
enforce the laws against manumission. And now, after defend
ing and strengthening this barrier against human freedom, the
Society glorifies itself for its benevolence in having opened a
little crevice through which, in sixteen years, a few hundred
captives, out of millions, have escaped ! Had the Society and
its friends opposed these laws, they would long since have been
swept away, and thousands and tens of thousands would have
been free, who are now pining in bondage. In 1782, Virginia
repealed her restraining law, and in nine years, 10,000 slaves
ware manumitted. The slave-holders became alarmed, — their
vocation was in danger of becoming disreputable, and the law
was reenacted.
We have all heard much of the evils resulting from the traffic
in ardent spirits, and we know that multitudes are endeavoring
io suppress it, fey insisting that it is sinful, and that Christian
duty requires its immediate abolition. Now let us suppose a
•society for abolishing it, to be formed on the model of the Col
onization Society, and ask ourselves how it would proceed, and

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. HI
what would be the prospect of its success. Such a society
would begin by informing the venders, that it held their property
in rum sacred, and respected their right to sell it ; that as yet,
it addressed arguments to no vender to induce him to abandon
the traffic ; that it was, indeed, a political evil, but it was one
they had unfortunately engaged in, and which the necessities of
themselves and families compelled them to continue for the pres
ent ; that the society condemned no man for being a rumseller ;
that it had no connection with the fanatics and incendiaries who
denounced the business as sinful, and demanded its immediate
abolition, — but, inasmuch as the society knew that the venders
were anxious to get rid of the rum they unfortunately possessed,
it had appointed agents who would gratuitously afford their aid
in removing and emptying rum-casks, and it trusted the moral
influence of this proffered aid would, in a century or more, effect
the total abolition of the traffic.
The absurdity of the conclusion, in the supposed case, is obvi
ous ; and did not prejudice impair our vision, we should see an
equal absurdity in the professed expectations of colonizationists.
But is our illustration a parallel case ? - No : for our ideal soci
ety does not profess to regard any other evil as greater than the
indefinite continuance of the traffic, while the real one boldly
and unequivocally declares for perpetual slavery in preference
to emancipation, either immediate or gradual, without expatria
tion. Now if the expatriation of the whole body of slaves be
both physically and morally impossible ; if the slaves could not
be transported and maintained in Africa, were the masters wil
ling to surrender them ; and if the masters would not surrender
them, even if they could instantly be transported and maintained,
then it follows irresistibly, that the moral influence of the Ameri
can Colonization Society is to perpetuate slavery in the United
States. We can scarcely persuade ourselves, that any honest coloni
zationists can, in view of all the facts which have been developed,
seriously believe that slavery will ever be removed by coloniza
tion. Still there may be some who are indulging the hope

112 jay's works.
that this scheme is promoting emancipation. We entreat the
attention of such to the proofs we will now offer, that the Society
is in fact AN ANTI-ABOLITION ASSOCIATION.
On the 9th of January, 1828, Mr. Harrison, of Virginia, in
addressing the Society at its annual meeting, used the following
language :
" The Society having declared that it is in no wise allied to any Abo
lition Society in America or elsewhere, is ready when there is need,
to pass a censure upon such societies in America." _llth Report,
p. 14.
The pledge thus given in behalf, and in the presence of the
Society, was pubhshed and circulated by the Board of Mana
gers. It was a gross violation of the constitution, and an
unblushing outrage on the multiplied professions of the Society,
that its only object was the colonization of free blacks. But -we
cannot understand the full meaning and unholy nature of this
pledge, without adverting to the Abolition Societies to which it
related. This pledge, be it remembered, had no reference to the
associations now known as Anti-Slavery Societies, and which
are accused of a design to destroy the Union — to drench the
land in human gore, and to produce by marriage an amalgama
tion of color. Such societies were unknown, such charges
unheard of, when this pledge was given. The Abolition Soci
eties which were to be censured, were societies founded by Jay
and Franklin, and which advocated gradual emancipation.
The first society ever formed, it is believed, for the abolition
of slavery, was organized in the city of New York, January,
1785, under the presidency of John Jay. The principles
maintained by this society, may be gathered from the preamble.
to its constitution.
" The benevolent Creator and Father of all men, having given them
all an equal right to life, hberty, and property, no sovereign power on
earth can justly deprive them of either, but in conformity to impartial
government, and laws, to which they have expressly or tacitly con
sented. It is our duty, therefore, as free citizens and Christians, not

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 113
only to regard with compassion the injustice done to those among us,
who are held as slaves, but to endeavor, by lawful means, to enable
them to share equally with us in ihe civil and religious liberty with which
an indulgent Providence has blessed these States, and to which these
our brethren are by nature as much entitled as ourselves."
The next Abolition Society was that of Pennsylvania, founded
in 1787, under the presidency of Franklin. Slave-holders
were expressly excluded. The constitution declares, that it has
pleased " The Creator of the world to make of one flesh all the children of
men," and that it is the special duty of those who acknowledge the
obligations of Christianity, to use such means as are in their power to
extend the blessings of freedom " to every part of our race."
Abolition Societies gradually multiplied, and exercised a salu
tary influence in promoting emancipation at the North. But
they were not confined to the North ; they soon sprang up in
the slave States, and scattered and feeble rays of light began to
pierce the dense cloud which brooded over the southern country.
Unity of action and of purpose was secured by triennial con
ventions of delegates from the several societies. No organized
opposition had ever been offered to these associations. The
moral sense of the community, unperverted by colonization,
would not then have tolerated the scenes we have since witnessed.
The respect in which Abolition Societies were held, is evinced
by the following extract from the journals of Congress :
" House of Representatives, 18th Feb. 1809.
" Resolved, That the Speaker be requested to acknowledge the
receipt and acceptance of Clarkson's History of Slavery, presented by
the American Convention, for promoting the abolition of slavery, and
improving the condition of the Africans, and that the said work be
deposited in the library."
The Speaker accordingly returned an official letter of thanks
to the convention.
Only three months before Mr. Harrison, as herald of the Col
onization Society, proclaimed war against Abolition Societies,
the convention met at Baltimore, the capital of a slave State.

114 jay's works.
To this convention delegates or communications were sent from
the following Abolition Societies, viz. :
New York, Andover, Mass.,
Rhode Island, Williams College, Mass.,
Pennsylvania, Loudon Co., Virginia,
Western Pennsylvania, N. Carolina, with 40 branches,
Maryland, with 5 branches, Delaware,
Tennessee, Centreville, Penn.,
West Tennessee, Brownsville, do.
Munro Co., Ohio,
This convention, among other measures, petitioned Congress
for the abolition of slavery in the District pi Columbia, and
exhorted the friends of abolition to use their efforts to procure
" the removal of all existing legal impediments in the way of
educating the people of color." Such was the promising state
of public feeling, at the very moment when the Colonization
Society announced its crusade against Abolition. The vigor
and constancy with which it has been carried on to the present
time, are known to all who have watched its progress. The
Abolition Societies and their conventions have withered under
the " censure " of their powerful enemy, and have shrunk from
public notice. Within the last two years, they have been par
tially succeeded by more sturdy associations, named Anti-Slavery
Societies, which, instead of quailing beneath the frowns of their
foe, have dared to grapple with him in mortal conflict, and to
stake the hopes of freedom on the issue. If, in this struggle,
abolitionists have not always distinguished themselves by their
courteous bearing, let it be recollected, that they believe the
happiness of millions depends on their efforts ; and, also, that
by their haughty adversary, they have been treated as wretches
who deserve punishment ; not as the generous and disinterested
champions of the oppressed and friendless. Let us observe the
manner in which they are assailed by members of a religious
society. " It (the Society) is nowise mingled or confounded with the broad-
sweeping views of a few fanatics in America, who would urge us on to
the sudden and total abolition of slavery." . Afr. Rep., HI, 197.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 115
" Come, ye abolitionists, away with your wild enthusiasm, your mis
guided philanthropy." Afr. Rep., YLT, J.00.
" Resolved, that we view all attempts to prejudice the public mind,
or excite the popular feeling, on the subject of slavery, as unwise and
injurious, and adapted to perpetuate the evil which it is proposed to
eradicate." Col. Meeting at Northampton, Mass. Afr. Rep., VILI, 283.
After a public discussion of the colonization scheme in Utica,
the Common Council came to the rescue of the Society, by dis
charging resolutions against the abolitionists. For example :
" Whereas, certain individuals now in our city, are disturbing ihe
peace of the good citizens thereof, by inculcating sentiments which we
deem demoralizing in themselves, and little short of treason towards
the government of our country," &c,
" Resolved, that, in the opinion of this meeting, it is the solemn
duty of every patriot and philanthropist, to discountenance and oppose
the efforts of Anti-Slavery Societies." Col. Soc. of Middletown, Conn.
6th March, 1834.
It would have been, of course, unconstitutional to aid these
efforts ; but it seems the Society had full authority to oppose
them. In short, with colonization societies, every thing is con
stitutional that is expedient, and nothing that is not.
. " The emancipation, to which this resolution directs your attention,
is not that unconstitutional and dangerous emancipation, contemplated
by a few visionary enthusiasts, and a still fewer number of reckless
incendiaries among us." Speech of Chancellor Walworth, at Col. Meet
ing in New York, 9th Oct., 1833.
" I avail myself of this opportunity, to enter my solemn protest
against the attempts which are making by a few fanatics. Let us talk
no more of nullification ; the doctrine of immediate emancipation is a
direct and palpable nullification of that Constitution which we have
sworn to support." Speech of D. B. Ogden at New York Colonization
Meeting. " We owe it to ourselves not to remain silent spectators while this
wild fire is running its course. We owe it to those misguided men,
(the abolitionists,) to interpose and save them and their country from
the fatal effects of their mad speculations." Speech of Hon. T. Freling-
huysen, V President, before Am. Col. Society, 21st Jan., 1834.
We are not informed which article of the constitution of the
Society imposes on its members the onerous duty mentioned by
the honorable gentleman.
The abolitionists in New York gave notice of a meeting for

116 jay's works.
forming a City Anti-Slavery Society. In reference to this
notice, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the New
York Colonization Society, Mr. Stone, published in his paper,
2d of Oct., 1833, the following from a correspondent :
" Is it possible that our citizens can look quietly on, while the flames
of discord are rising, — while even our pulpits are sought to be used for
the base purpose of encouraging scenes of bloodshed in our land ? If
we do, can we look our Southern brethren in the face and say, we are
opposed to interfering with their rights ? No, we cannot." *
The hint thus kindly given, was readily taken, and a mob of
five thousand scattered the abolitionists. After another mob, in
July, had assaulted the dwellings and temples of abolitionists,
this officer of a Christian benevolent society, thus stated the
condition on which abolitionists might be permitted to enjoy
the common rights of American citizens, security of person and
freedom of speech, the press, and rehgious worship.
" While, then, our civil authorities should receive the aid of every
good citizen, in their efforts to put down the mobs now nightly engaged
in deeds of violence, yet there should be a distinct understanding, that
the protection of law, and the aid of the military, can only be enjoyed
or expected, on condition that the causes of these mischiefs shall be
abated, and the outrages upon public feeling, from the forum, the
pulpit, and the press, shall no more be repeated by these reckless
incendiaries." Commercial Advertiser, 11th July, 1834.
Another colonization editorf published the same day, and
while the mob were committing their grossest outrages, the fol
lowing article :
'' Now we tell them, (the abolitionists,) that when they openly and
publicly promulgate doctrines which outrage public feeling, they have
no right to demand protection of the people they insult. Ought not,
we ask, our city authorities to make them understand this — to tell
them that they prosecute their treasonable and beastly plans at
their own peril? " N. Y. Courier and Enquirer, 11th July, 1834.

* This communication was accompanied by an editorial admission of the
civil rights of abolitionists. It is to be regretted, that the editor, as will be
seen by the next quotation, afterwards proposed a condition on which alone,
in his opinion, those rights should be protected.
fMr. James Watson Webb.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 117
On conditions similar to those proposed by these gentlemen,
the Roman emperors were ever ready to afford protection
to the Christian martyrs ; nor did the Spanish Inquisition
require more, than that none should " promulgate doctrines "
it disapproved. Far be it from us to insinuate, that the conduct of these two
editors was in conformity with the advice or wishes of any respect
able cdlonizationists ; and candor requires the acknowledgment,
that we have never heard it justified ; but it is unfortunately
true, that the insults they have poured upon abolitionists, have
been countenanced by the example of gentlemen from whom
better things were expected. All this violence and obloquy are
not without an object ; and that object is intimidation. Utterly
vain is the hope of maintaining the cause of colonization, or of
suppressing that of abolition, by discussion. In every instance
in which colonizationists have ventured to meet their opponents
in public disputation, they have invariably retired with diminished
strength. Hence great efforts have been made by coloniza
tionists, and by the advocates of slavery, to prevent the public
from ever listening to the facts and arguments adduced by the
abolitionists. After a mob of five thousand had assembled to
prevent the formation of the New York Anti-Slavery Society —
after the most unfounded calumnies had been spread through
the community against its members, the Society published an
address, explaining their real sentiments and objects. One
would have thought it an act of common justice, to give this
address a candid perusal ; but such an act would not have been
expedient, and accordingly the zealous editor of the Commercial
Advertiser thus endeavored to prevent it :
" We are quite sure that a discerning public will consign it to obli
vion, by abstaining from a purchase of the pestilent document. Their
curiosity, we hope, will not overstep their discretion, in furthering the
purposes of the authors by its dissemination. Let this flagitious
address descend to the tomb of the Capulets. The address in extenso,
we have not read."
The abolitionists, on the contrary, are so far ham. fearing the
effects of discussion, that they are ever anxious to promote it ;
n

118 JAY'S WORKS.
and when an acrimonious colonization pamphlet* appeared
against them, they provokingly advertised it for sale, and urged
the public to readmit, f
In the war now waging between the abolitionists and coloni
zationists, a third party has come to the aid of the latter. Those
who maintain the sinfulness of slavery, and the safety and duty
of immediate emancipation, plant themselves on scriptural ground,
and urge the promises, and threats, and commands of the word
of God. They professedly act as Christians, and only as Chris
tians ; and it cannot be supposed that the infidel portion of the
community view with indifference an opportunity of wounding
Christianity through its zealous disciples. At the same time,
the absence of Christian' motive as a principle of the colonization
scheme, and the countenance given by that scheme to most un
christian prejudices, naturally invite antichristian support. Cer
tain it is, that many infidel newspapers are zealous advocates of
colonization, and that the mobs of our cities are always ready to
espouse its cause.
There is no evidence that, with the exception of certain
editors, the mobs which disgraced the city of New York the
last summer were instigated by members of the Society ; yet
these mobs were its avowed champions. The first mob assem
bled on the 9th of July, at the Chatham street chapel, the place
in which some anti-slavery meetings had recently been held ;
and breaking open the doors, took possession of the building.
They then organized, and appointing a chairman, passed resolu
tions approving of the Colonization Society ; and by a formal vote,
adjourned till the next meeting oi the Anti-Slavery Society, — a
very significant hint. The following guarded notice of this
transaction, appeared the next day in one of the journals.
"From the non-assemblage of the persons who had designed to
occupy the chapel, it was evident that the objects of the meeting had
been abandoned,_ and the friends of colonization thereupon entered,
organized a meeting, passed resolutions in favor of their own opinions,
and peaceably dispersed." New York Daily Advertiser.
• Reese's Review.
fSee the New York Emancipator.

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 119
The mob did indeed adjourn as a colonization meeting, but
they had too much business on their hands to disperse. They
immediately proceeded to vindicate the honor of the American
name, by mobbing the Bowery Theatre, in revenge for some
insulting expressions said to have been used by an Engiish
actor. " After finishing their work at the Bowery Theatre, the mob,
(says the New York Journal of Commerce,) in a very excited
state, repaired to the residence of Lewis Tappan, (a prominent
abolitionist,) and attacked it with bricks and stones. The door,
window-blinds, shutters, &c, were soon demolished, after which
the mob entered, broke up the furniture, and made a bonfire of
it in the street." Such was the commencement of four days of
riot and outrage, by the admirers of " the benevolent coloniza
tion system." The managers of the city Colonization Society,
mortified at the character and conduct of their new allies, pub
lished a card declaring that the " tumultuous meetings " at
which certain resolutions had been passed, approving the objects
of the New York Colonization Society, " had been held without
any previous knowledge of the Board," and recommending to
every friend of the cause of colonization to abstain " from all
participation in proceedings subversive of the rights of individuals,
or in violation of the public peace." When before have the
friends of a religious and benevolent cause needed such a recom
mendation ?
The Journal of Commerce, a colonization paper, assigns
infidelity as one of the causes of the riots.
" It was noticed, (it observes,) as a fact full of instruction, that last
Sunday night, when many of the churches and lecture rooms were
closed for fear of the mob, Tammany Hall was brilliantly lighted up
for the meeting of infidels, who carried on their mummery without the
slightest apprehension of danger. The buildings which have been
attacked, are six churches, (belonging to four different denominations,)
one school-house, occupied as a church, three houses of clergymen, a
house and store occupied by elders of churches, and a number of
houses occupied by colored famihes. Thus, with the exception of
some colored persons, the vengeance of the mob has been exclusively
directed against churches, ministers and elders. At the sacking of Mr.
Tappan's house, a fellow was heard to say, that every rascal of a church

120 jay's works.
member ought to be thrown off the dock, or to that effect. We think,
therefore, we see inscribed on the banner of this guilty throng, enmity
to the cross -of Christ."
Yet this guilty throng commenced its operations with lauding
the Colonization Society.
In Utica, after a public discussion on Colonization, a mob
assembled and burned in effigy a clergyman who had taken part
against the Society ; and also a layman who had become dis
tinguished fbr his zeal in the temperance cause ; and a bundle of
Temperance Recorders was committed to the flames.
The following is from the New York Courier and Enquirer,
12th of May, 1834, and is part of an article in defence of the
Colonization Society, and in vituperation of the abolitionists.
" Colleges and institutions are every year founded, not for the pur
poses of general education, but to initiate a new race of monks and
fanatics in the arts and mysteries of clerical ambition, to teach them how
best to subjugate the human mind, and render female weakness subser
vient to well-disciplined Jesuitism. One half of our colleges are nothing
more than seminaries for educating uncompromising bigots," &c, &c.
In this very same article, we are assured " the Colonization
Society holds out the only rational and practicable mode of bring
ing about the emancipation of the blacks ; " and we are warned
against the "accursed, and disorganizing, and incendiary de
vices," of the abolitionists.
Soon after the mobs, a poem was published, entitled, " Fanat
icism Unveiled." The author, in his advertisement, declaims
against the " crusade which is now waged by a few wretched
fanatics against the Colonization Society." Of the religious
character of this poetical champion of the Society, some estimate
may be made from the following lines :
" And do not dunces spend their cash on
Such things as we have brought in fashion ?
Fictitious tales in aid of piety,
Invented for the Tract Society.
Sectarian Seminaries made
To teach the true fanatic trade ;
And schools where infancy is told,
That while one world is paved with gold,
Another lying somewhat lower,
With children's skulls is sprinkled o'er."

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 121
The Society unquestionably comprises a vast number of as
pure and devoted Christians as can be found in this or any other
country ; and we are fully persuaded, that they verily believe,
that in supporting colonization, they are doing God service.
The zealous cooperation they are now receiving from persons of
very opposite character from themselves, should lead them to
inquire whether they may not be mistaken.
It certainly does not follow that a system must be bad, be
cause bad men support it ; but it does follow, that when mobs and
infidels espouse a particular object, it is because that object is
recommended to them by other than religious considerations.
Yet colonizationists are fond of representing their Society as a
religious institution; and the ministers of the Gospel are
earnestly urged to preach annual sermons in its behalf.
That multitudes of religious men belong to the Society is not
denied, but the participation of such men in an object, does not
necessarily render it a religious object: otherwise the slave
trade was a, Christian commerce, because John Newton was a
slave-trader; and Free-Masonry must be a holy fraternity,
since it can boast the names of more good men than were ever
enrolled in the ranks of colonization. But in what sense can the
Society be termed a religious one ? It is not professedly founded
on any one principle of the Gospel of Christ. It exercises
no one act of benevolence towards the free blacks in this
country ; and in transporting them to Africa, it is by its own
confession removing nuisances. It takes no measures to Chris
tianize Africa, but landing on its shores an ignorant and vicious
population. It employs no missionary, it sends no Bible, and it
cannot point to a single native, converted to the faith of Jesus
through its instrumentality. On the contrary, may we not, in
reference to the facts disclosed in the preceding pages, affirm,
without the imputation of bigotry or prejudice, that the general
influence of the Society is decidedly anti-christian ? We have
seen that it practically tends to the debasement and persecution
of the free blacks ; to the hardening of the consciences of the
slave-holders, and to the indefinite continuance of slavery.
11*

122

JAY S WORKS.

The objects of the Society, as stated in the declarations of its
orators, are of such vast importance, and such god-like benevo
lence, that it is no wonder good men have been so dazzled by
the gorgeous visions presented to their imaginations, as to have
omitted to scrutinize the machinery by which these visions are
to be realized.
No one surely needs an apology for having believed in coloni
zation, when Wilberforce could thus express himself:
" You have gladdened my heart by convincing me, that sanguine as
had been my hopes of the happy effects to be produced by your insti
tution, all my anticipations are scanty and cold compared with the
reality." Letter to Mr. Cresson. 15th Rep., p. 15.
No one surely needs to blush at acknowledging that he has
been deceived in the Society since Wilberforce placed his
name at the head of a protest against it. The following ex
tract from this protest will show how truly the Society is now
estimated by British philanthropists.
" Our abjections to it are briefly these : while we believe its pretexts
to be delusive, we are convinced that its real effects are of fie most
dangerous nature. It takes its root from a cruel prejudice and aliena
tion in the whites of America, against the colored people, slave or free.
This being its source, the effects are what might be expected — that it
fosters and increases the spirit of caste, already so unhappily predomi
nant — that it widens the breach between the two races — exposes the
colored people to great practical persecution, in order to force them to
emigrate : and finally is calculated to swallow up and divert that feeling
which America, as a Christian and a free country, connot but enter
tain, that slavery is alike incompatible with the law of God, and the
well being of man, whether of the enslaver or the enslaved. We must
be understood utterly to repudiate ihe principles of the American Colo
nization Society."
The opponents of slavery in England, as well as here, at first
hailed the Society as an auxiliary, and the anti-slavery societies
there, in the warmth of their zeal, began to remit contributions
to its funds : by these same people the Society is now regarded
with detestation. Probably no religious periodical possesses in
an equal degree the confidence of the religious community here,
as the London Christian Observer. The Observer formerly

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY. 123
commended the Society. Hear the present sentiments of its
late editor, the distinguished Z. Macauley, Esq., M. P.
" The unchristian prejudice of color, which alone has given birth to
the Colonization Society, though varnished over with other more plausi
ble pretences, and veiled under a profession of Christian regard for the
temporal and spiritual interests of the negro, which is belied by the
whole course of its reasonings, and the spirit of its measures, is so
detestable in itself, that I think it ought not to be tolerated ; but
on the contrary, ought to be denounced and opposed by all humane,
and especially all pious persons in this country." Letter, 14lh July,
1833, to Mr. Garrison.
For a quarter of a century, William Allen, a London Quaker,
has been prominent in every good work, and his name is familiar
to all acquainted with the great catholic institutions of England.
This eminent and zealous philanthropist thus writes :
" Having heard thy exposition of the origin and main object of the
American Colonization Society, at the meeting on the 13th inst., at
Exeter Hall, and having read their own printed documents, I scarcely
know how adequately to express my surprise and indignation, that
my correspondents in North America should not have informed me
of the real principles of the said Society ; and also, that Elliott Cresson,
knowing as he must have known the abominable sentiments it has
printed and published, should have condescended to become its agent."
Letter, 15th of 7th Month, 1833.
Mr. Buxton, the successor of Mr. Wilberforce as the parlia
mentary leader in the cause of abolition, thus expresses himself:
"My views of the Colonization Society you are aware of. They do
not fall far short of those expressed by my friend Mr. Cropper, when
he termed its objects diabolical." Letter of July 12th, 1833.
But is it only in Britain that good men have found themselves
disappointed in the Society ? Who compose our present anti-
slavery societies ? Pious, conscientious men, who, with scarcely
an exception, were formerly advocates of colonization. A cler
gyman of Massachusetts, in the following passage, expresses
the sentiments of a numerous and increasing body.
" I have been constrained to withdraw my confidence and cooperation
from this scheme. It is a scheme in which I was once deeply in
terested. I have spoken and preached, and written and taken con
tributions in its behalf. I did not then understand the real nature
and tendency of the scheme. I meant well in espousing it, but I now
see my error and my sin ; and though it was a sin of ignorance, I
desire to repent of it."

124 jay's WORKS.
Almost daily do we hear of colonizationists awaking as from
a dream, and expressing their astonishment and regret at the
delusion into which they had fallen.
To the Christian members of the Society, we would now ad
dress ourselves, and ask, Have we not proved enough to induce
you to pause, to examine, and to pray, before you longer lend
your names, and contribute your funds to the purposes of coloni
zation ? Do no secret misgivings of conscience now trouble you ?
and are you perfectly sure that in supporting the Society, you
are influenced by the precepts of the Gospel, and not by preju
dice against an unhappy portion of the human family ? If on a
full investigation of the subject, you discover that colonization is
not what you believed and hoped it was, remember that it is
your duty to obviate, as far as possible, by a frank and open
declaration of your opinion, the evil your example has done.
Be not ashamed, be not slow to follow Wilberforce in. entering
your protest against the Society. If that Society leads to the
degradation and oppression of the poor colored man — if it re
sists every effort to free the slave — if it misleads the con
science of the slave-holder, you are bound, your God requires
you to oppose it, not in secret, but before the world. Soon will
you stand at the judgment seat of Christ ; there will you meet
the free negro, the slave, and the master, — take care lest they
all appear as .witnesses against you.

PART II
AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

CHAPTER I.
PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY —
CHARACTER OF AMERICAN SLAVERY.
The principles professed by the American Anti-Slavery Soci
ety, are set forth in the following articles of its Constitution, viz. :
Article 2. The object of this Society is' the entire abolition of
slavery in the United States. While it admits that each State, in which
slavery exists, has by the Constitution of the United States, the exclu
sive right to legislate in regard to its abolition in that State, TF shall
aim to convince all our fellow-citizens, by arguments addressed to their
understandings and consciences, that slave-holding is a heinous crime
in the sight of God ; and that the duty, safety, and best interests of all
concerned, require its immediate abandonment, without expatriation.
The Society will also endeavor in a constitutional way to influence
Congress to put an end to the domestic slave-trade, and to abohsh
slavery in all those portions of our common country which come under
its control, especially in the District of Columbia, and likewise to pre
vent the extension of it to any State that may hereafter be admitted to
the Union.
Article 3. This Society shall aim to elevate the character and
condition of the people of color, by encouraging their intellectual,
moral and religious improvement, and by removing public prejudice ;
that thus they may, according to their intellectual and moral worth,
share an equality with the whites, of civil and rehgious privileges ; but

126 jay's works.
the Society will never in any way, countenance the oppressed in vin
dicating their rights, by resorting to physical force.
Article 4. Any person who consents to the principles o/this Con
stitution, who contributes to the funds of this Society, and is not a
slave-holder, may be a member of this Society, and shall be entitled to
vote at its meetings.
Here we have great moral principles frankly and unequivocally
avowed; the objects to be pursued are distinctly stated; and
none are permitted to join in the pursuit of these objects without
assenting to the principles which avowedly render their at
tainment desirable. The whole structure of the Society, there
fore, is totally different from the Colonization Society; this
being founded on principle, that on expediency; this availing
itself only of certain professed motives, that inviting the cooper
ation of motives of all sorts, however contradictory.
In order to judge of the fitness of the objects contemplated by
the Society, we must first inquire into the soundness of the
principles by which they are recommended.
The first great principle of the Society, and indeed the one
from which all the others are deduced, is the sinfulness of slavery.
To determine whether slavery as it exists in the United States
is sinful, we must know what it is. Where an institution is
unavoidably liable to great abuses, those abuses may fairly be
taken in account in estimating its true character ; but in order to
avoid all captious objections, we will now inquire, what are the
lawful, or rather legal features of American slavery, and we
will leave wholly out of view, all acts of oppression and cruelty
not expressly sanctioned by law. The following definitions of
American slavery, are, it will be perceived, from high authority :
" A slave is one who is in the power of a master to whom he belongs.
The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, his labor;
he can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but which
must belong to his master." Louisiana Code, Art. 3.
" Slaves shall be deemed, taken, reputed and adjudged to be chattels
personal in the hands of their masters and possessors, to all intents and
purposes whatsoever." Laws of South Carolina — Brevard's Digest,
229. It will be observed that these definitions apply to slaves, with
out distinction of sex or age.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 127
But not only are those now in servitude, but their children
after them, the subjects of these definitions.
The law of South Carolina says of slaves, " all their issue
and offspring born or to be born, shall be, and they are hereby
declared to be and remain forever hereafter absolute slaves,
and shall follow the condition of the mother."
Slavery is not confined to color. Mr. Paxton, a Virginia
writer, declares that " the best blood in Virginia flows in the
veins of the slaves." In the description lately given of a fugitive
slave in the public papers, it was stated, "He has sometimes
been mistaken for a white man." The following from a Missouri
paper proves that a white man may without a mistake be ad
judged a slave.
" A case of a slave suing for his freedom, was tried a few days since
in Lincoln county, of which the following is a brief statement of the
particulars. A youth of about ten years of age sued for his freedom
on the ground that he was a free white person. The court granted his
petition to sue as a pauper upon inspection of his person. Upon his
trial before the jury he was examined by the jury and by two learned
physicians, all of whom concurred in the opinion that very little if any
trace of negro blood could be discovered by any of the external ap
pearances. All the physiological marks of distinction which charac
terize the African descent had disappeared. ,
" His skin was fair, his hair soft, straight, fine and white, his eyes
blue, but rather disposed to the hazle-nut color ; nose prominent, the
lips small and completely covering the teeth, his head round and
well formed, forehead high and prominent, the ears large, the tibia of
the leg straight, the feet hollow. Notwithstanding these evidences of
his claims, he was proven to be a descendant of a mulatto woman, and
that his progenitors on his mother's side had been and still were slaves ;
consequently, he was found to be a slave."
The laws of South Carolina and Virginia expressly recognize
Indian slaves.
Not only do the laws acknowledge and protect existing slavery,
but they provide for reducing free persons to hereditary bondage.
In South Carolina, fines are imposed on free negroes for certain
offences, and in default of payment, they are made slaves. If a
colored citizen of any other State enters Georgia, he is fined,
and if he cannot raise the money, he is sentenced to perpetual
slavery, and his children after him. In Maryland, if a free negro
marries a white, the negro becomes a slave. In almost every

128 jay's works.
slave State, if a free negro cannot prove that he is free, he is by
law sold at public auction as a slave for life. This is both law
and practice in the District of Columbia, and with the sanction
of the Congress of the United States. In no civilized country
but the slave States, are children punished for the crimes of
their parents ; but in these, the children of free blacks, to the
latest posterity, are condemned to servitude for the trivial of
fences, and often for the most innocent act of their ancestors.
It necessarily follows from the legal definitions we have given
of a slave, that he is subjected to an absolute and irresponsible
despotism. The master has in point oi fact the same power over his
slave that he has over his horse. Some few laws there may be,
forbidding the master to treat his slave with cruelty, and so the
common law everywhere forbids cruelty to beasts ; but it is far
easier to enforce the latter than the former. Any spectator of
cruelty to a beast, may ordinarily be a witness against the
offender ; but a slave may be mutilated or murdered with im
punity in the presence of hundreds, provided their complexions
are colored ; and even should the crime be proved by competent
testimony, the master is to be tried by a court and jury who are
all interested in maintaining the supreme authority of slave
holders. But although no laws can in fact restrain the power
of the master, yet laws to a certain degree indicate what kind of
treatment is tolerated by public opinion. Thus when we find
the laws of South Carolina limiting the time which slaves may
be compelled to labor, to fifteen hours a day, we may form some
opinion of the amount of toil which Southern masters think it
right to inflict upon the slaves ; and when we recollect that the
laws of Maryland, Virginia and Georgia, forbid that the crimi
nals in their penitentiaries shall be made to labor more than ten
hours a day, we discover the relative place which white felons*
and unoffending slaves occupy in the sympathies' of slave-holders.
The slave is, at all times, liable to be punished at the pleasure
of his master ; and although the law does not warrant him in
murdering the slave, it expressly justifies him in killing him, if
he dares to resist ; that is, if the slave does not submit to any

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 129
chastisement which a brutal master may of his sovereign pleasure
choose to inflict, he may legally be shot through the head.
In South Carolina, if a slave be killed " on a sudden heat or
passion, or by undue correction," the murderer is to pay a fine
and be imprisoned six months. What would be thought of such-
a punishment for the murder of a white apprentice ?
In Missouri, a master is by law expressly authorized to im
prison his slave during pleasure, and thus may"a human being
be legally incarcerated for life without trial, or even the allega
tion of a crime.
The despotism of the slave-holder, be it remembered, is a
negotiable despotism ; it is daily and hourly bought and sold,
and may at any moment be delegated to the most brutal of the
species. The slave, being himself property, can own no property. He
may labor fifteen hours a day, but he acquires nothing by his
labor. In South Carolina, a slave is not permitted to- keep a
boat, or to raise and breed for his own benefit, any horses, cattle,
sheep, or hogs, under pain of forfeiture, and any person may take
such articles from him.
In Georgia, the master is fined thirty dollars for suffering his
slave to hire himself to another for his own benefit. In Mary
land, the master forfeits thirteen dollars for each month that his
slave is permitted to receive wages on his own account.
In Virginia, every master is finable who permits a slave to
work for himself at wages. In North Carolina, " all horses,
cattle, hogs, or sheep, that shall belong to any slave, or be of
any slave's mark in this State, shall be seized and sold by the
county wardens."
In Mississippi, the master is forbidden, under the penalty of
fifty dollars, to let a slave raise cotton for himself, " or to keep
stock of any description."
Such is the anxiety of the slave laws to repress every benev
olent desire of the master to promote in the slightest degree the
independence of the slave.
Slaves, being property, are like cattle liable to be leased and
mortgaged by their owners, or sold on execution for debt.
12

130 jay's works.
A slave having no rights, cannot appear in a court of justice
to ask for redress of injuries. So far as he is the subject of
injury, the law regards him only as a brute, and redress can only
be demanded and received by the owner. The slave may be
beaten, (robbed he cannot be,) his wife and children may be
insulted and abused in his presence, and he can no more institute
an action for damages, than his master's horse. But cannot he
be protected by his master's right of action ? No : The master
must prove special injury to his property, to recover damages.
Any man may with perfect impunity whip another's slave, unless
he so injure him as to occasion " a loss of service, or at least a
diminution of the faculty of the slave for bodily labor." Such
is the decision of the Supreme Court of Maryland. In Louisi
ana, if a third person maim a slave, so that he is " forever ren
dered unable to work," the offender pays to the owner the value
of the slave, and is also to be at the expense of his maintenance;
but the unfortunate slave, mutilated or crippled for life, receives
not the slightest compensation. The master's right of action is
a protection to his property, not of the comfort or security of the
slave ; indeed, it tends to degrade the latter to the level of the
other live stock on his master's farm.
A necessary consequence of slavery, is the absence of the
marriage relation. No slave can commit bigamy, because the
law knows no more of the marriage of slaves, than it does of
the marriage of brutes. A slave may, indeed, be formally mar
ried, but so far as legal rights and obligations are concerned, it
is an idle ceremony. His wife may, at any moment, be legally
taken from him, and sold in the market. The slave laws utterly
nullify the injunction of the Supreme Lawgiver, " What God
hath joined, let not man put asunder."
Of course, these laws do not recognize the parental relation
as belonging to slaves. A slave has no more legal authority
over his child, than a cow over her calf.
The Legislature of the slave States, when legislating respect
ing slaves, seem regardless alike of the claims and the affections
of our common nature. No right is more sacred, or more uni
versally admitted, than that of self-preservation ; but the

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 131
wretched slave, whether male or female, is denied the right of
self-defence against the brutality of any person whomsoever
having a white skin. Thus the law of Georgia declares, " if
any slave shall presume to strike any white person, upon trial or
conviction before the justice or justices, according to the direc
tions of this act, he shall, for the first offence, suffer such punish
ment as the said justice or justices shall in their discretion think
fit, not extending to life or limb ; and for the second offence, suf
fer DEATH."
The same law prevails in South Carolina, except that death
is the penalty for the third offence.
In Maryland, the justice may order the offender's ears to be
cropped. In Kentucky, " any negro, mulatto, or Indian, bond
or free," who "shall at any time lift his hand in opposition to
any white person, shall receive thirty lashes on his or her bare
back, well laid on, by order of the justice."
In South Carolina, " if any slave, who shall be out of the
house or plantation where such slaves shall live or shall be usu
ally employed, or without some white person in company with
such slaves, shall refuse to submit to undergo the examination of
any white person, it shall be lawful for any white person to pur
sue, apprehend, and moderately correct such slave ; and if such
slave shall assault and strike such white person, such slave may
be LAWFULLY KILLED."
We have seen that the slave laws regard the slave, so far as
human rights and enjoyments and social relations are concerned,
as a mere brute ; we are now to see, that so far as he can be
made to suffer for his acts, he is regarded as an intelligent and
responsible being.
Divine equity has established the rule, that the servant which
knew not his master's will, and did commit things worthy of
stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. If there was ever a
case to which this rule was applicable, it is to the unlettered,
ignorant, brutalized slave, intentionally -deprived of the ability
to read the laws of God or man. A code of laws prepared for
the government of such beings, one would suppose would be
distinguished for its lenity ; and in the mildness of its penalties,

132 jay's works.
would form a striking contrast to a code for the government of
the enlightened and instructed part of the community, whose
offences would, of course, be aggravated by the opportunities
they had enjoyed of learning their duty. Alas, the slave code
punishes acts not mala in se with a rigor which public opinion
would not tolerate for a moment, if exercised towards white
felons, and it visits crimes with penalties far heavier, when com
mitted by the poor ignorant slave, than it does when they are
perpetrated by the enlightened citizen.
Thus in Georgia, any person may inflict twenty lashes on the
bare back of a slave found without license off the plantation, or
without the limits of the town to which he belongs. So also
in Mississippi, Virginia, and Kentucky, at the discretion of a
justice. In South Carolina and Georgia, any person finding more than
seven slaves together in the highway without a white person,
may give each one twenty lashes.
In Kentucky, Virginia, and Missouri, a slave, for keeping a
gun, powder, shot, a club, or other weapon whatsoever, offensive
or defensive, may be whipped thirty-nine lashes by order of a
justice. In North Carolina and Tennessee, a slave travelling without
a pass, or being found in another person's negro quarters, or
kitchen, may be whipped forty lashes, and every slave, in whose
company the visitor is found, twenty lashes.
In Louisiana, a slave, for being on horseback without the writ
ten permission of his master, incurs twenty -five lashes ; for keep
ing a dog, the like punishment.
By the law of Maryland, for " rambling, riding, or going
abroad in the night, or riding horses in the day-time, without
leave," a slave may be whipt, cropt, or branded on the cheek
with the letter R, or otherwise punished, not extending to hfe,
or " so as to render him unfit for labor."
Such are a few specimens only of the punishments inflicted
on slaves, for acts not criminal, and which it is utterly impossible
they should generally know are forbidden by law.
Let us now view the laws of the slave States in relation to

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 133
crimes, and we shall find that their severity towards blacks and
whites, is in inverse ratio td the moral guilt of the offenders.
In Virginia, the laws_ have recently been revised, and by the
revised code, there are seventy-one offences for which the pen
alty is death, when committed by slaves, and imprisonment
when by whites.*
In Mississippi, the number of these offences is thirty-eight,
or rather many of them are not punishable at all, when com
mitted by whites : as, for instance, attempting to burn out-build
ings, to commit forgery, to steal a horse, &c, &c.
Imprisonment of a slave as a punishment for crime, except
in Louisiana, is utterly unknown in the slave States. To shut
him up in prison, would be depriving his master of his labor,
and burthening the public with his maintenance ; it is, therefore,
more economical to flog him for trifles, and to hang him for seri
ous offences. v
Where human life is held so cheap, and human suffering so
little regarded, it is not to be expected that the dispensers of
slave justice will submit to be troubled with all those forms and
ceremonies which the common law has devised for the protection
of innocence. We have seen that, in many instances, any white
person may instanter discharge the functions of judge, jury, and
executioner. In innumerable instances, all these functions are
united in a single justice of the peace ; and in South Carolina,
Virginia, and Louisiana, life may be taken, according to law,
without intervention of grand or petit jurors. In other States,
a trial by jury is granted in capital cases ; but in no one State,
it is believed, is it thought worth while to trouble a grand jury
with presenting a slave. In most of the slave States, the ordi
nary tribunal for the trial of slaves charged with offences not
capital, is composed of justices and freeholders, or of justices
only. A white man cannot be convicted of misdemeanor, except
by the unanimous verdict of twelve of his peers. In Louisiana,'
if the court is equally divided as to the guilt of a slave, judgment
is rendered against him.
* An enumeration of these offences, together with references to the stat
utes alluded to in this work, may be found in " Stroud's Sketch of the Slave
Laws." 12*

134 jay's works.
In 1832, thirty-five slaves were executed at Charleston, in
pursuance of the sentence of a court, consisting of two justices
and five freeholders, on a charge of intended insurrection. No
indictments, no summoning of jurors, no challenges for cause or
favor, no seclusion of the triers from intercourse with those who
might bias their judgment, preceded this unparalleled legal de
struction of human life.
However much we may pride ourselves, as a nation, on the
general diffusion of the blessings of education, it ought to be
recollected that these blessings are forcibly withheld from two
millions of our inhabitants ; or that one-sixth of our whole pop
ulation are doomed by law to the grossest ignorance.
A law of South Carolina, passed in 1800, authorizes the inflic
tion of twenty lashes on every slave found in an assembly con
vened for the purpose of " mental instruction," held in a confined
or secret place, although in the presence of a white. Another
law imposes a fine of £100 on any person who may teach a
slave to write. An act of Virginia, of 1829, declares every
meeting of slaves at any school, by day or night, for instruction
in reading or writing, an unlawful assembly, and any justice
may inflict twenty lashes on each slave found in such school.
In North Carolina, to teach a slave to read or write, or to sell
or give him any book (Bible not excepted) or pamphlet, is pun
ished with thirty-nine lashes, or imprisonment, if the offender
be a free negro, but if a white, then with a fine of $200. The
reason for this law, assigned in its preamble is, that " teaching
slaves to read and write, tends to excite dissatisfaction in their
minds, and to produce insurrection and rebellion."
In Georgia, if a white teach a free negro or slave to read or
write, he is fined $500, and imprisoned at the discretion of the
court ; if the offender be a colored man, bond or free, he is to be
fined or whipped at the discretion of the court. Of course a
father may be flogged for teaching his own child. This barbar
ous law was enacted in 1829.
In Louisiana, the penalty for teaching slaves to read or write,
is one year's imprisonment.
These are. specimens of the efforts made by slave legislatures,

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 135
to enslave the minds of their victims ; and we have surely no
reason to hope that their souls are regarded with more com
passion. In vain has the Redeemer of the world given the command
to preach the gospel to every creature ; his professed disciples
in the slave States have issued a counter order ; and as we have
already seen, have by their laws, incapacitated 2,000,000 of their
fellow-men from complying with the injunction, "search the
Scriptures." Not only are the slaves debarred from reading
the wonderful things of God — they are practically prevented,
with a few exceptions, from even hearing of them.
In Georgia, any justice of the peace may, at his discretion,
break up any rehgious assembly of slaves, and may order each
slave present to be " corrected without trial, by receiving on the
bare back twenty-five stripes with a whip, switch or cow-skin."
In South Carolina, slaves may not meet together for the pur
pose of " religious worship " before sunrise or after sunset, unless
the majority of the meeting be composed of white persons, under
the penalty of twenty lashes well laid on. As it will be rather
difficult for the slave to divine before he goes to the meeting,
how many blacks and how many whites will be present, and of
course which color will have the " majority," a due regard for
his back will keep him from the meeting.
In Virginia, all evening meetings of slaves at any meeting
house are unequivocally forbidden.
In Mississippi, the law permits the master to suffer his slave
to attend the preaching of a white minister.
It is very evident that when public opinion tolerates such
laws, it will not tolerate the general religious instruction of the
slaves. True it is, a master may carry or send his slaves to the
parish church, and true it is that some do attend, and receive
benefit from their attendance.
On this, as well as on every other subject relating to slavery,
we would rather fall short of, than exceed the truth. We will
not assert there are no Christians among the slaves, for we trust
there are some. When, however, we recollect, that they are
denied the Scriptures, and all the usual advantages of the Sun-

136 jay's works.
day school, and are forbidden to unite among themselves in acts
of social worship and instruction, and that almost all the ser
mons they hear are such as are addressed to educated whites,
and of course above their own comprehension, we may form
some idea of the obstacles opposed to their spiritual improvement.
Let it be also recollected that every master possesses the tre
mendous power of keeping his slaves in utter ignorance of their
Maker's will, and of their' own immortal destinies. And now
with all these facts and their consequences and tendencies in
remembrance, we ask if we do not make a most abundant and
charitable allowance when we suppose that 245,000 slaves pos
sess a saving knowledge of the religion of Clirist ? And yet
after this admission, one which probably no candid person will
think too limited, there will remain in the bosom of our country,
two millions of human beings, who, in consequence of our
laws, are in a state of heathenism ! But probably many will
refuse their assent to this conclusion without further and more
satisfactory evidence of its correctness. To such persons we
submit the following testimony, furnished by slave-holders them
selves. In 1831, the Rev. Charles C. Jones preached a sermon
before two associations of planters in Georgia, one of Liberty
County, and the other of Mcintosh County. This sermon is
before us, and we quote from it.
" Generally speaking, they (the slaves) appear to us to be without
God and without hope in the world, a nation of heathen in our
very midst. We cannot cry out against the Papists for withholding the
Scriptures from the common people, and keeping them in ignorance of
the way of life ; for we withhold the Bible from our servants, and keep
them in ignorance of it, while we will not use the means to have it
read and explained to them. The cry of our perishing servants comes
up to us from the sultry plains as they bend at their toil — it comes up
to us from their humble cottages when they return at evening to rest
their weary limbs — it comes up to us from the midst of their ignorance
and superstition, and adultery and lewdness. We have manifested no
emotions of horror at abandoning the souls of our servants to the ad
versary, the roaring lion that walketh about seeking whom he may
devour." s '
On the 5th of December, 1833, a committee of the Synod of
South Carolina and Georgia, to whom was referred the subject

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 137
of the religious instruction of the colored population, made a
report which has been pubhshed, and in which this language is
used :
" Who would credit it, that in these years of revival and benevolent
effort, in this Christian republic, there are over two millions of
human beings in the condition of heathen, and in some respects in
a worse condition ? From long-continued and close observation, we
believe that their moral and religious condition is such that they may
justly be considered the heathen of this Christian country, and will
bear comparison with heathen in any country in the world. The
negroes are destitute of the Gospel, and ever will be under the present
state of things. In the vast field extending from an entire State beyond
the Potomac to the Sabine river, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio,
there are to the best of our knowledge not twelve men exclusively
devoted to the religious instruction of the negroes. In the present
state of feeling in the South, a ministry of their own color could neither
be obtained nor tolerated.
"But do not the negroes have access to the Gospel through the
stated ministry of the whites ? We answer, No ; the negroes have no
regular and efficient ministry; as a matter of course, no churches;
neither is there sufficient room in white churches for their accommoda
tion. We know of but five, churches in the slave-holding States built
expressly for their use ; these are all in the State of Georgia. We may
now inquire if they enjoy the privileges of the Gospel in their own
houses, and on our plantations. Again we return a negative answer.
They have no Bibles to read by their own firesides — they have no
family altars ; and when in affliction, sickness, or death, they have no
minister to address to them the consolations of the Gospel, nor to bury
them with solemn and appropriate services."
In a late number of the Charleston (S. C.) Observer, a cor
respondent remarked :
" Let us establish missionaries among our own negroes, who in view
of religious knowledge, are as debasingly ignorant as any one on the
coast of Africa ; for I hazard the assertion, that throughout the bounds
of our synod, there are at least one hundred thousand slaves, speaking
the same language as ourselves, who never heard of the plan of salva
tion by a Redeemer."
The editor, instead of contradicting this broad assertion, adds:
" We fully concur with what our correspondent has said respect
ing the benighted heathen among ourselves."
Such is American slavery, — a system which classes with the
beasts of the field, over whom dominion has been given to man,
an intelligent and accountable being, the instant his Creator has

138 jay's works.
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Over this infant
heir of immortality, no mother has a right to watch, no father
may guide his feeble steps, check his wayward appetites and
train him for future usefulness, happiness and glory. Torn from
his parents, and sold in the market, he soon finds himself laboring
among strangers under the whip of a driver, and his task aug
menting with his ripening strength. Day after day and year
afer year is he driven to the cotton or sugar-field, as the ox .to
the furrow. No hope of reward lightens his toil; the subject of
insult, the victim of brutality, the laws of his country afford him
no redress ; his wife, such only in name, may at any moment be
dragged from his side ; his children, heirs only of his misery
and degradation, are but articles of merchandise ; his mind, stupi-
fied by his oppressors, is wrapped in darkness ; his soul, no man
careth for it ; his body, worn with stripes and toil, is at length
committed to the earth, like the brute that perisheth.
This is the system which the American Anti-Slavery Society
declares to be sinful, and ought therefore to be immediatly
abolished ; and this is the system which the American Coloni
zation Society excuses, and which, it contends, ought to be per
petual, rather than its victims should enjoy their rights in " the
white man's land."
To one whose moral sense has not been perverted, it would
seem a temerity bordering on blasphemy, to contend that such a
system can be approved by a just and holy God, or sanctioned
by the precepts of his blessed Gospel. Slavery, we are told, is
not forbidden in the Bible ; but who will dare to say that cruelty
and injustice and compulsory heathenism are not?
We are often reminded, that St. Paul exhorts slaves to be
obedient to their masters ; but so he does subjects to their rulers.
If, in the one instance, he justified slavery, so did he despotism
in the other. The founder of Christianity and his apostles,
interfered not with political institutions, but laid down rules for
the conduct of individuals ; and St. Paul, in requiring masters to
give their servants that which is just and equal, virtually con
demned the whole system of slavery, since he who receives
what is just and equal cannot be a slave. If it was right in the

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 139
time of St. Paul to hold white men as slaves, would it be wrong
to do so now ? If slavery is lawful now, it must have been
lawful in its commencement, since perseverance in wrong can
never constitute right. Let it be explained how free men with
their posterity, to the latest generation, can now be lawfully
reduced to slavery, and forever kept in ignorance of the duties
and consolations of Christianity, and we will unite with those
who justify American slavery.

CHAPTER II

PROPOSED OBJECTS AND MEASURES OF THE AMERICAN ANTI-
SLAVERY SOCIETY — CENSURE OF ABOLITIONISTS.
The next great principle maintained by the Society is, that
slavery being sinful, it ought immediately to cease. Admitting
the premises, the conclusion seems irresistible. Sin is opposi
tion to the will of our Creator and Supreme Lawgiver. His
wisdom and goodness are alike infinite, and if slavery be incon
sistent with his will, it must necessarily be inconsistent with the
welfare of his creatures. Reason and revelation, moreover,
assure us that God will punish sin ; and therefore to contend
that it is necessary or expedient to continue in sin, is to impeach
every attribute of the Deity, and to brave the vengeance of
Omnipotence. These principles lead the Society to aim at effecting the fol
lowing objects, viz. :
1st. The immediate abolition of slavery throughout the United
States. 2d. As a necessary consequence, the suppression of the Amer-
can slave-trade.
3d. The ultimate elevation of the black population to an
equality with the white, in civil and rehgious privileges.

140 jay's works.
But principles may be sound, and objects may be good, and
yet the measures adopted to enforce those principles, and to
attain those objects, may be unlawful. Let us then inquire what
are the measures contemplated by the Society.
Slavery exists under the authority of the State Legislatures,
in the several States ; and under the authority of Congress in
the District of Columbia, and in the United States' Territories.
The members of the Society are all represented in Congress,
and the Constitution guarantees to them the right of petition.
They will therefore petition Congress to exercise the power it
possesses, to abohsh slavery in the District of Columbia and the
Territories. But the Society is not represented in the State
Legislatures, and therefore petitions to them might be deemed
officious, and would not probably lead to any advantageous result.
The Society will therefore use the right possessed by every
member of the community, the right of speech and of the press.
They will address arguments to the understandings and the
consciences of their fellow-citizens, and endeavor to convince
them of the duty and policy of immediate emancipation. Legis
latures are with us but the mere creatures of the people, and
when the people of the slave States demand the abolition of
slavery, their Legislatures will give effect to their will by passing
the necessary laws.
The means by which the Society will endeavor to secure to
the blacks an equality of civil and religious privileges, are
frankly avowed to be the encouragement of their intellectual,
moral, and religious improvement, and the removal of existing
prejudices against them. To prevent any misapprehensions
of the real design of the Society, the constitution expressly
declares that the Society will never " in any way countenance
the oppressed in vindicating their rights by resorting to physical
force." Such are the principles and designs of those who are now
designated as abolitionists ; and never since the settlement of the
country, has any body of citizens been subjected in a equal
degree, to unmerited and unmeasured reproach.
We have seen with what kind of temper colonizationists speak

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 141
of free negroes, and we may well question, when we call to mind
the obloquy they have heaped upon abohtionists, whether the
latter are not in their opinion the greater nuisances. Much as
the free negroes have suffered from the charges of the Society,
still there have been limits to the invectives hurled against them.
No chancellor has adjudged them to be " reckless incendiaries."*
No counsellor, learned in the law, has charged them with being
guilty of "a palpable nullification of that Constitution which
they had sworn to support." f No honorable senator has
denounced them as "fanatics, increasing injury and sealing
oppression." \ The chairman of the Executive Committee of
the New York Colonization Society never asserted that their
design was " beyond a doubt to foment a servile war in the
South." § Nor did even the New York Courier and Enquirer
ever propose that the city authorities should inform them, that
they must prosecute " their treasonable and beastly plans at
their own peril ; " in other words, that they should not be pro
tected from mobs. 1| Nor, finally, has any city corporation
accused them of holding sentiments " demoralizing in themselves,
and little short of treason towards the government of our coun
try."! But abolitionists are neither astonished nor dismayed at the
torrent of insult and calumny that has been poured upon them,
as though some strange thing had happened unto them. They
remember that Wilberforce and his companions experienced
similar treatment, while laboring for the abolition of the slave-
* Speech of Chancellor Walworth of New York.
f Speech of D. B. Ogden, Esq,., of Hew York.
J Hon. Mr. Prelinghuysen, of the Senate of the United States.
§ Commercial Advertiser, 9th June, 1834.
| Courier and Enquirer, 11th July, 1834. The same paper of the 27th Dec.,
1834, contains the following : — " We do say, and say in all the earnestness of
conviction, that no meeting of abolitionists should ever be suffered to go on with
its proceedings in the United States. Whenever these wretched disturbers of
the public peace, and plotters of murder, rapine, and a dissolution of
the Union, have the impudence to hold a meeting, it is the duty of the
rational citizens, — always a vast majority in everyplace, — to go to that
meeting, and there, by exercising the right of every American citizen, make
the expression of their disapprobation and disgust loud enough, and emphatic
enough, to render it impossible for treason to go on with its machinations.
Let sedition be driven from its den, as often as its minions congregate."
IT Resolutions of the Corporation of the City of Utica.
13

142 jay's works.
trade ; and "they remember also the glorious triumphs they
•achieved, and the full though tardy justice that has been done to
their motives. A few brief reminiscences may be both interest
ing and useful.
In 1776, the British House of Commons rejected a resolu
tion, that the slave-trade " was contrary to the laws of God and
the rights of man." Yet that trade is now piracy by act of
Parliament. In 1788, on a bill being introduced into the House of Lords,
to mitigate the horrors of the trade, Lord Chancellor Thurlow
ridiculed "the sudden fit of philanthropy that had given it
birth," and Lord Chandos predicted " the insurrection of the
slaves, and the massacre of their masters, from the agitation of
the subject."
In 1789, on a motion of Mr. Wilberforce, that the House
would take the trade into consideration, a member pronounced the
attempt to abolish it " hypocritical, fanatic, and methodistical,"
and contended that abolition must lead to " insurrections, mas
sacre and ruin."
In 1791, Col. Tarleton, in the House of Commons, speaking
of the proposed abolition of the slave-trade, declared that " the
measure was fit only for the bigotry and superstition of the
twelfth century." Lord John Russell asserted that abolition
was " visionary and delusive, a feeble attempt, without the power
to serve the cause of humanity."
Lord Sheffield could " trace in the arguments for abolition
nothing like reason, but on the contrary, downright frenzy."
In 1792, the abolitionists were denounced in Parliament, as
" a junto of sectaries, sophists, enthusiasts, and fanatics."
In 1793, the Duke of Clarence, now William IV, in his place
in the House of Lords, declared the abohtionists to be " fanatics
and hypocrites," and so far violated parliamentary decorum, as
to apply these epithets to Mr. Wilberforce by name. Yet has
he lived to crown the labors and fulfil the hopes of Wilberforce,
by giving his assent to the bill abolishing slavery throughout the
British dominions.
In 1804, Lord Temple declared in Parliament, thatto abolish

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 143
the slave-trade, would be " the death-warrant of every white
inhabitant in the islands."
Ten times did Mr. Wilberforce bring the subject of the aboli
tion of the traffic before Parliament, and ten times was he
doomed to witness the failure of his efforts ; nor was this detes
table commerce suppressed till thirty years after the first motion
against it had been made in the House of Commons. Now, it
is prohibited by the whole Christian world.
When the abolitionists of the present day think of these facts,
and recollect the reproaches heaped on Wilberforce and his col
leagues by a chancellor and dignified senators, well may they
thank God and take courage. And who are these men, we
would ask, whom colonizationists are honoring with epithets
similar to those which the advocates of the slave-trade so liber
ally applied to the philanthropists who opposed it ? We will
suffer an authority justly respected by the religious community
to answer the question.
Abbott's Religious Magazine, in an article on the mobs against
the New York Abolitionists, says :
" The men against whom their fury was directed, were in general
ministers of the Gospel, and other distinguished members of Christian
churches. The more prominent ones, were the very persons who have
been most honored in times past, on account of their personal exer
tions and pecuniary contributions for every benevolent purpose. Let
the whole land be searched, and we believe that no men will be found
to have done so much for the promotion of temperance, purity, and
every benevolent and religious object."

144 jay's works.
CHAPTER III.
FANATICISM OF ABOLITIONISTS.
One of the most usual terms by which abohtionists are desig
nated by their opponents is, " the fanatics." It seems they are
fanatics, because they believe slavery to be sinful. The grounds
for this belief have been already stated. But is the sinfulness
of slavery a new doctrine? or has it been held only by weak
and misguided men? Is Wilberforce to be denounced as a
" wretched fanatic," because he declared, " slavery is the full
measure of pure unsophisticated wickedness, and scorning all
competition or comparison, it stands alone without a rival, in the
secure, undisputed possession of its detestable preeminence ? "
Was Jonathan Edwards a poor " misguided " man, for thus
addressing slave-holders ? " While you hold your negroes in
slavery, you do wrong, exceedingly wrong — you do not as you
would that men should do to you ; you commit sin in the sight
of God ; you daily violate the plain rights of mankind, and that
in a higher degree than if you committed theft or robbery."
Were Porteus, Horseley, Fox, Johnson, Burke, Jefferson, and
Bolivar, " miserable enthusiasts ? " Yet hear their testimonies.
" The Christian religion is opposed to slavery in its spirit and in its
principles ; it classes men-stealers among murderers of fathers and of
mothers, and the most profane criminals upon earth." Porteus.
" Slavery is injustice which no consideration of policy can extenu
ate." Horseley.
" Personal freedom is the right of every human being. It is a right
of which he who deprives a fellow creature, was absolutely criminal in
so depriving him ; and which he who withheld, was no less criminal in
withholding." Fox.
" No man is by nature the property of another. The rights of
nature must be some way forfeited, before they can be justly taken
away." Johnson.
" Slavery is a state so improper, so degrading, and so ruinous to the
feelings and capacities of human nature, that it ought not to be suffered
to exist." Burke.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 145
" The Almighty has no attribute which can take sides with us in
such a contest," — (a contest with insurgent slaves.) Jefferson.
" Slavery is the infringement of all laws ; a law having a tendency
to preserve slavery, would be the grossest sacrilege." Bolivar.
We would take the liberty of recommending to the consider
ation of certain Methodist colonizationists, the following language
of John Wesley.
" Men-buyers are exactly on a level with men-stealers. Indeed, you
say, I pay honestly for my goods, and am not concerned to know how
they are come by. Nay, but you are — you are deeply concerned to
know that they are honestly come by. Otherwise, you are a partaker
with a thief, and are not a jot honester than him. But you know they
are not honestly come by ; you know they are procured by means
nothing so innocent as picking of pockets, or robbery on the highway.
Perhaps you will say, I do not buy my negroes, I only use those left
me by my father. So far is well, but is it enough to satisfy your con
science ? Had your father, have you, has any man living a right to
use another as a slave ? It cannot be, even setting revelation aside."
But abolitionists are fanatics, not merely because they believe
slavery sinful, but also because they contend it ought immediate
ly to be abolished. In their fanaticism on this point, as well as
on the other, they are kept in countenance by a host of divines
and statesmen, and by the unanimous opinion of thousands and
tens of thousands of Christians. Men of all ranks and charac
ters, from John Wesley or Daniel O'Connell have exhibited this
fanaticism ; it has been borne by the republicans of France, the
Catholics of South America, the people of England, Scotland,
and Leland.
So long ago as 1774, John Wesley declared : "It cannot be
that either war or contract can give any man such a property in
another, as he has in his sheep and oxen. . Much less is it pos
sible that any child of man should ever be born a slave. If,
therefore, you have any regard to justice, (to say nothing of
mercy, nor the revealed will of God,) render unto all their due.
Give liberty to whom liberty is due, that is, to every child of
man, to every partaker of human nature."
Jonathan Edwards was fanatic enough to assert : — " Every
man, who cannot show that his negro hath, by his voluntary
conduct, forfeited his liberty, is obligated immediately to manu
mit him." 13*

146 jay's works.
One million five hundred thousand persons petitioned the Brit
ish Parliament for the total and immediate abolition of slavery.
Indeed, Mr. O'Connell expressed the nearly unanimous sentiment
of the whole nation, when he exclaimed, — "I am for speedy,
immediate abolition. I care not what creed or color slaveiy
may assume, I am for its total, its instant abolition.
We have not yet exhausted the proofs of the alleged fanati
cism of abolitionists. It seems they are fanatics for wishing to
elevate the blacks to a civil and religious equality with the
whites. Certain colonization editors deny to abolitionists, as we
have seen, the constitutional right of freedom of speech, the
press, and pulpit, and even of peaceably assembling together ;
and multitudes seem to think, that they have forfeited the pro
tection of the ninth commandment. Men of all ranks have
united in charging upon them designs which they indignantly
disclaim, and in support of which, not a particle of evidence has
been or can be adduced. One of the designs falsely imputed to
them, is that of bringing about an amalgamation of colors by
intermarriages. In vain have they again and again denied any
such design ; in vain have their writings been searched for any
recommendation of such amalgamation. No abolitionist is
known to have married a negro, or to have given his child to a
negro ; yet has the charge of amalgamation been repeated, and
repeated, till many have, no doubt, honestly believed it.
During the very height of the New York riots, and as if to
excite the mob to still greater atrocities, the editor of the Com
mercial Advertiser asserted that the abolitionists had " sought to
degrade " the identity of their fellow citizens, as a " nation of
white men, by reducing it to the condition of mongrels." Com.
Adv. 11th July, 1834.
No one in the possession of his reasoning faculties can believe
it to be the duty of white men to select black wives ; and aboh
tionists have given every proof the nature of the case will ad
mit, that they countenance no such absurdity.
But most true it is, that the Anti-Slavery Society avows its
intention to labor for the civil and religious equality of the
blacks. It has been found expedient to accuse it of airnin°- also

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 147
at their social equality. He must be deeply imbued with fanat
icism, or rather with insanity, who contends, that because a man
has a dark skin, he is, therefore, entitled to a reception in our
families and a place at our tables.
We all know white men whose characters and habits render
them repulsive to us, and whom no consideration would induce
us to admit into our social circles ; and can it be believed that
abolitionists are willing to extend to negroes, merely on account
of their color," courtesies and indulgences which, in innumerable
instances, they withhold, and properly withhold, from their white
fellow citizens ? But who pretends that, because a man is so
disagreeable in his manners and person that we refuse to asso
ciate with him, therefore he ought to be denied the right of suf
frage, the privilege of choosing his trade and profession, the
opportunities of acquiring knowledge, and the liberty of pursuing
his own happiness ? Yet such is our conduct towards the free
blacks, and it is this conduct which the Society aims at reform
ing. The Society does contend, that no man ought to be punished
for the complexion God has given him. And are not black men
punished for the color of their skin ? Read the laws of the slave
States relative to free negroes ; alas ! read the laws of Ohio and
Connecticut ; read the decision of Judge Daggett ; behold them
deprived of the means of education, and excluded from almost
every trade and profession ; see them compelled to wander in
poverty and ignorance. Now, all this, abohtionists contend is
wrong, and their opposition to this system of persecution and
oppression is fanaticism ! Be it so ; but it is only modern fanat
icism, and it was not so regarded when in 1785, John Jay
declared :
" I wish to see all unjust and unnecessary discriminations every
where abolished, and that the time may soon come, when all our inhab
itants, of every color and denomination, shall be free and equal
PARTAKERS OF OUR POLITICAL LIBERTY."
It requires no great exercise of candor to admit that the
prejudices existing against the blacks are sinful, whenever they
lead us to treat those unhappy people with injustice and inhu
manity. They have their rights as well as ourselves. They

148 jay's works.
have no right to associate with us against our will, but they have
a right to acquire property by lawful industry ; they have a
right to participate in the blessings of education and political
liberty. When, therefore, our prejudices lead us to keep the
blacks in poverty, by restricting their industry,* to keep them
in ignorance, by excluding,them from our seminaries, and pre
venting them from having seminaries of their own; to keep
them in a state of vassalage by denying them any choice in their
rulers ; our prejudices are so far sinful, and so far only does the
Anti-Slavery Society aim at removing them.

CHAPTER IV.
incendiarism and treason of abolitionists.
It is not enough that abolitionists should be represented as
fanatics ; it has been deemed expedient to hold them up to the
community as incendiaries and traitors. The chairman of the
Executive Committee of the New York Colonization Society,
thus speaks of the Anti-Slavery Society, in his paper of the 9th
June, 1834:
" The design of this Society is, beyond a doubt, to foment a servile
war in the South ; they have been heard to say, blood must be shed,
and the sooner the better ; this Society owes its existence not to the
love of hberty, or any particular affection for the slaves, but to cruel
and bitter hatred, and malignity."
In an earlier paper, he inserted an article accusing abohtion
ists of seeking to use the pulpits " for the base purpose of encour
aging scenes of bloodshed."
Here we find the most atrocious designs imputed to men well
known in the community for active benevolence and private
* As one instance among the innumerable restrictions on the industry of
these people, we may mention that no free black, however moral and intelli
gent, can obtain a license in the city of New York to drive a cart !

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 149
worth; and yet not a scintilla of evidence is offered in support
of the extraordinary fact, that such men should harbor such
designs. In this case the accused can of course offer only nega
tive proof of their innocence. That proof is to be found, first,
in their individual characters ; secondly, in the fact that many
of the abolitionists are emphatically peace men, that is, they hold
the Quaker doctrine of the unlawfulness of war, and maintain
that it would be sinful in the slaves to attempt effecting their
freedom by force of arms ; * thirdly, in the fundamental principle
of the. Society that they will " never in any way countenance
the oppressed in vindicating their rights by resorting to physical
force ; " and, fourthly, in the fact that abolitionists as such, have
in no instance recommended or committed an act of unlawful
violence. But by declaiming against slavery, abolitionists are exciting
odium against slave-holders. If he who labors to render any
particular sin, and those who are guilty of it odious, is of course
a " reckless incendiary," few are more justly and honorably
entitled to this epithet, than the excellent Chancellor of New
York.' Few have shown more intrepidity in denouncing the
venders of ardent spirits than this gentleman ; and abolitionists
in their warfare against slavery, may well take a lesson from the
example he has set them of an honest and fearless discharge of
duty. Had the President of the New York Temperance Society
and his associates exercised the same tenderness and gentleness
towards drunkards and venders, that he now shows towards
slave-holders, Temperance Societies would have checked the
progress of drunkenness as little as colonization promises to do
that of slavery.
Thomas Jefferson was not denounced as a reckless incen
diary, when in the midst of a slave population, he declared that
the Almighty had no attribute that could take side with the
masters in a contest with their slaves ; nor did John Jay forfeit
the confidence of his countrymen, when during the Revolution
ary war, he asserted, " till America comes into this measure,
* This sentiment is held and avowed by the much calumniated Mr. Gar
rison.

150 jay's works.
(abolition of slavery) her prayers to heaven for liberty will be
impious ; " nor when addressing the Legislature of New York,
then a slave State, he told them that persons " free by the laws
of God, are held in slavery by the laws of man."
Nor were Franklin and his associates regarded as incendi
aries for uniting in 1787, " to extend the blessings of freedom
to every part of our race," or for refusing to permit slave-holders
to participate with them in this glorious effort.
It was not sufficient to ridicule abolitionists as fanatics, or to
stigmatize them as incendiaries ; they must be branded as trai
tors and nullifiers. On the 9th of October, 1833, a few days
after a mob had assembled to deprive American citizens of one of
their dearest constitutional rights, that of peaceably expressing
their opinions, a numerous colonization meeting was convened
in New York for the purpose of taking advantage of the recent
excitement to raise the sum of $20,000. Gentlemen of high
rank and influence addressed the meeting. Not a word of dis
approbation of the late outrage escaped them ; on the contrary,
the violence offered to the abolitionists seemed to be extenuated,
if not justified, by the grievous charges now brought against
them. The Hon. Mr. Frelinghuysen of New Jersey, justly distin
guished for his piety, his talents, and his station as a Senator of
the United States, addressed the meeting. " In the course of
his address," says the N. Y. Commercial Advertiser, 10th of
October, " he dwelt with emphasis, and jusT discrimination upon
the proceedings of both cis and trans- Atlantic abolitionists,- who
are seeking to destroy our happy Union,"
Chancellor Walworth, one -of the most estimable citizens, and
the highest judicial officer of the State of New York, alluding to
the emancipation to be effected by colonization, remarked :
" The emancipation, however, to which this resolution directs your
attention, is not that unconstitutional and dangerous emancipation con
templated by a few visionary enthusiasts, and a still fewer reckless
incendiaries among us, which cannot be effected without violating the
rights of property secured by that constitution which we have sworn to
support — that emancipation which wo uld arm one part of the Union
against another, and fight up the flame of civil war in this now happy
land." N. Y. Journal of Commerce,

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 151
David B. Ogden, Esq., a gentleman whose legal eminence
and whose purity of character justly give to his opinions peculiar
weight, used the following language :
" I avail myself of this opportunity, to enter my solemn protest
against the attempts which are making by a few fanatics, who, with
out looking to the fearful consequences involved in such an issue, are
advocating the immediate emancipation of slaves, in the Southern
District. As citizens of the United States, we have no right to interfere
with the claims of our Southern brethren to the property of their
slaves. The Constitution of the United States recognizes their right to
it, and they have not only a sure and undeniable right to that property,
but they are entitled to the full protection of the constituted authorities,
in enforcing the enjoyment of it. Let us not talk any more of nullifica
tion ; the doctrine of immediate emancipation is a direct and palpable
nullification of that Constitution we have sworn to support." N. Y.
Journal of Commerce.
We might have selected many similar charges from other
sources, but we have taken these on account of the high character
of the accusers, and because the authors are all of the legal pro
fession, and, of course, aware of the importance of precision in
all charges of a criminal nature. Not one of these gentlemen
sitting as a criminal judge, would permit the merest vagabond to
be put on his defence on a vague charge of stealing, but would
quash any indictment that did not specify the time and place
of the offence, and the property alleged to be stolen ; yet they
did not scruple to hold up their fellow-citizens and fellow Chris
tians to the indignation of the public, on charges destitute of all
specification, and unsupported by a particle of testimony.
Abolitionists are here accused of seeking to destroy our happy
Union ; of contemplating a violation of property, secured by the
Constitution they had sworn to support ; of pursuing measures
which would lead to a civil war ; and of being guilty of direct
and palpable nullification. When — where — how were these
crimes attempted ? What proof is offered ? Nothing, absolutely
nothing, is offered but naked assertion. Is this equitable ? Is
it doing to others as these gentlemen would wish others to do to
them? But it is not enough that abolitionists should be denounced at
home ; they must also be defamed abroad. Mr. Gurley, Secre
tary of the American Colonization Society, writes a letter (1833)

152 jay's works.
to Henry Pobotson, Esq., England, and to give it greater weight,
dates it, " Office of the Colonization Society, Washington." In
this letter, he undertakes to enlighten his foreign correspondent
on some of the "fundamental errors " of the abohtionists, and
ranks among them the opinion, " that, in present circumstances,"
slavery ought to be abolished, by means not acting solely through,
but, in a great degree against, and in defiance of the will of the
South'' Not a tittle of evidence is given, that such an opinion
is held by a single individual in the United States.
Mr. Jeremiah Hubbard, clerk of the Yearly Meeting of
Friends, in North Carolina, in a letter to a friend in England,
(Afr. Rep., X, p. 37,) declares that " the primary object " of the
abolitionists " appears to be, that of producing such a revolution
in public sentiment as to cause the national legislation to bear
directly upon the slave-holders, and to compel them to emancipate
their slaves."
Now, to all these charges, and to each and every one of
them, the members of the Anti-Slavery Society plead not
guilty, and desire to be tried by God and their country. But,
alas, no trial is vouchsafed to them : judgment has already been
given, and execution awarded against them, without trial and
without evidence, solely on the finding of a voluntary and
irresponsible inquest. All they can now do, is to ask for a
reversal of the judgment as false and illegal, cruel and op
pressive. It is, of course, difficult to disprove charges, where the counts
of the indictment are utterly void of certainty, and where, from
the nature of the case, none but negative testimony can be
offered by the accused. We have a right to presume that the
treason and nullification charged on abolitionists, have reference
to their efforts to procure the abolition of slavery in the United
States. Now slavery exists under the authority of Congress,
and also under the authority of State Legislatures. We will
proceed in the first place to exhibit some facts relative to slavery
in the former instance, and inquire how far the conduct of aboh
tionists in respect to it is treasonable and unconstitutional ; and
we will then make the same inquiry as to their conduct in regard
to slavery in the several States.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 153

CHAPTER V.

SLAVERY UNDER THE THE AUTHORITY OF CONGRESS.
At the last census, there were in the territories of Arkansas,
Florida, and the District of Columbia, twenty-six thousand .one
hundred and thirty-eight slaves. We will confine our remarks
at present to slavery as it is exhibited at the seat of the federal
' government, and in a portion of territory over which the Consti
tution of the United States has given to Congress " exclusive
jurisdiction." In this District of ten miles square, there are six
thousand slaves ; and the laws under which they are held in
bondage, are among the most cruel and wicked of all the slave
laws in the United States. This District, moreover, placed as
it is under the immediate and absolute control of the national
government, is the great slave mart of the North American
continent. In 1829, Mr. Miner, a member of the House of Representa
tives, from Pennsylvania, introduced a resolution for the gradual
abolition of slavery in the District. In his speech in support of
this resolution, many appalling facts were disclosed. It appeared
that in the last five years, seven hundred and forty-two colored
persons had been committed to the public prison of the city of
Washington. And were these persons accused or convicted of
crime ? Not one. Four hundred and fifty-two were lodged
in the United States prison by slave-traders, tor safe-keeping
prior to exportation. The residue were imprisoned on suspicion,
real or affected, of being fugitive slaves ; and if not claimed as
such, were by authority of Congress, to be sold as slaves for
life, to raise money to pay their jail fees !
Such are the facts in regard to the prison in the Capi
tal of our confederate Republic; and let it be recollected
that there are other prisons besides this in the District of
Columbia. 14

154 jay's works.
Of the practical operation of a system sanctioned by the laws
of Congress, takes the following .sample :
" Visiting the prison," says Mr. Miner, " and passing through the
avenues that lead to the cells, I was struck with the appearance of a
woman, having three or four children with her, one at the breast.
She presented such an aspect of woe, that I could not help inquiring
her story. It was simply this : she was a slave, but had married a man
who was free. By him she had eight or nine children. Moved by
natural affection, the father labored to support the children ; but as
they attained an age to be valuable in the market, perhaps ten or
twelve, the master sold them. One after another was taken away and
sold to the slave-dealers. She had now come to an age to be no longer
profitable as a breeder, and her master had separated her from her
husband and all the associations of life, and sent her and her children
to your prison for sale."
The law of the District, virtually the law of Congress, by
which any colored person, without the allegation of a crime,
may be seized and thrown- into a cell, and unless he can there
prove his freedom, or is claimed by another, is sold for life as a
slave to pay his jail fees, is for unblushing injustice and atrocity
utterly unrivalled by any enactment of the despots of the old
world. Mr. Miner states, that in 1826—7 no less than five
persons were thus sold into perpetual bondage, for jail fees. In
one case, the United States Marshal lost his fees. Hear
Mr. Miner.
" In August, 1821, a black man was taken up and imprisoned as a
runaway. He was kept confined until October, 1822, — four hundred
and five days. In this time, vermin, disease, and misery had deprived
him of the use of his limbs. He was rendered a cripple for life, and
finally discharged, as no one would buy him. Turned out upon the
world a miserable pauper, disabled by our means from gaining sub
sistence, he is sometimes supported from the Poor-house, sometimes
receives alms in your streets."
Mr. Miner thus speaks of the American slave-trade, as
carried on in the District :
" The slave-trade, as it exists and is carried on here, is marked by
instances of injustice and cruelty scarcely exceeded on the coast of
Africa. It is a mistake to suppose it is a mere purchase and sale of
acknowledged slaves. The District is full of complaints on the subject,
and the evil is increasing. So long ago as 1802, the extent and cruelty
of the traffic, produced from a grand jury, at Alexandria, a present-

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 155
ment so clear, so strong, and so feelingly drawn, that I shall make no
apology for reading it to the House."
Mr. Miner then read the following : "January Term, 1802.
" We the grand jury for the body of the County of Alexandria, in
the District of Columbia, present as a grievance the practice of persons
coming from distant parts of the United States into this District, for
the purpose of purchasing slaves, where they exhibit to our view a
scene of wretchedness and human degradation, disgraceful to our char
acters as citizens of a free government. True it is that these dealers,
in the persons of our fellow-men, collect within this District from vari
ous parts, numbers of those victims of slavery, and lodge them in some
place of confinement until they have completed their numbers. They
are then turned out in our streets and exposed to view, loaded with
chains as though they had committed some heinous offence against our
laws.' We consider it a grievance that citizens from distant parts of
the United States should be permitted to come within this District, and
pursue a traffic fraught with so much misery to a class of beings enti
tled to our protection by the laws of justice and humanity ; and that
the interposition of civil authority cannot be had to prevent parents
being wrested from their offspring, and children from their parents,
without respect to the ties of nature. We consider these grievances
demanding legislative redress," — that is, redress by Congress.
As illustrative of the horrors and iniquities of the traffic, Mr.
Miner informed the House of an incident that had occurred
during the previous session of Congress. A free colored man
had married a slave ; with the avails of his industry, he had, in
the course of some years, purchased the freedom of his wife
and children. He left home on business, and on his return
found his house tenantless. His wife and children were missing.
It was soon ascertained that they had been kidnapped by slave-
dealers, and confined in a private slave-prison, in Alexandria ;
from whence they had afterwards been sent to a distant market,
and were forever lost to the husband and the father.
" There is a man now in this District," continued Mr. Miner, " who
was in the hands of the slave-dealers, about to be sent off to the South,
when he laid his hand on a block, and with an axe severed it from his
arm. Can the slave-trade on the coast of Africa be more horrible,
more dreaded, or more prolific of scenes of misery ? To me all this
is dreadful, and I think it should not be tolerated here."
In 1828, a petition for the suppression of this trade, and for
the gradual abolition of slavery, and signed by more than one

156 jay's WORKS.
thousand of the inhabitants of the District, was presented to
Congress. From this document we extract the following :
" While the laws of the United States denounce the foreign slave-
trade as piracy, and punish with death those who are found engaged in
its perpetration ^there exists in this District, the seat of the national
government, a domestic slave-trade scarcely less disgraceful in
its character, and even more demoralizing in its influence. These
people are without their consent torn from their homes ; husband and
wife are frequently separated and sold into distant parts ; children are
taken from their parents without regard to the ties of nature, and the
most endearing bonds of affection are broken forever.
" Nor is this traffic confined to those who are legally slaves for life.
Some who are entitled to freedom, and many who have a limited time
to serve, are sold into unconditional slavery, and owing to the defec
tiveness of our laws, they are generally carried out of the District
before the necessary steps can be taken for their release.
" We behold these scenes continually taking place among us, and
lament our inability to prevent them. The people of this District have
within themselves no means of legislative redress, and we therefore
appeal to your honorable body, as the ONLY ONE vested by the
American Constitution with power to relieve us."
We will now exhibit the flourishing condition of the slave-
trade under the protection of Congress in 1834. The fol
lowing advertisements are all taken from the same sheet, printed
a few months since at the Capital of the American Republic :
" Cash for' Two Hundred Negroes.
" We will give cash for two hundred likely young negroes of both
sexes, families included. Persons wishing to dispose of their slaves,
will do well to give us a call, as we will give higher prices in cash than
any other purchasers who are now or may hereafter come into this
market. Ah communications will meet attention. We can at all
times be found at our residence on Seventh street, immediately south
of the Centre Market-house, Washington, D. C.
" September 13, 1834. Joseph W. Neal & Co."
" Cash for Four Hundred Negroes,
Including both sexes, from twelve to twenty-five years of age. Per
sons having likely servants to dispose of, will find it to their interest to
give us a call, as we will give higher prices in cash than any other pur
chaser who is now or may hereafter come into this market.
" Franklin, Armfield & Co.
" Alexandria, September 1st, 1834."

american anti-slavery society. 157
" Cash for One Hundred Negroes,
Including both sexes, from twelve to twenty-five years of ago. Persons
having likely servants to dispose of, will find it to their interest to give us
a call, as we will give higher prices in cash than any other purchaser
who is now in this city.
" We can at all times be found at Isaac Beer's tavern, a few doors
below Lloyd's tavern, opposite Centre Market, Washington city. All
communications promptly attended to.
" September 1st, 1834. Birch & Jones."
Thus we find cash offered for seven hundred slaves at one
time, in the District of Columbia. Does any one inquire how
these slaves are to be disposed of? We call his attention to the
following advertisement in the same paper :
" Alexandria and New Orleans Packets.
" Brig Tribune, Captain Smith, and Brig Uncas, Captain Boush,
will resume their regular trips on the 20th of October : one of which
will leave this port every thirty days throughout the shipping season.
They are vessels of the first class, commanded by experienced officers,
and will at all times go up the Mississippi by steam, and every exertion
used to promote the interests of shippers and comfort of passengers.
Apply to the Captains on board, or to "Franklin & Armfield.
" Alexandria, September 1st."
Most grievously disappointed and astonished would any North
ern gentleman be, who had taken passage in one of these Alex
andria and New Orleans packets, on finding himself on board a
SLAVER.
From a letter of the 23d of January, 1834, by the Rev. Mr.
Leavitt, and published in New York, it appears that he visited
the slave-factory of Franklin & Armfield, at Alexandria, and
was " informed by one of the principals, that the number of
slaves carried from the District last year was about one thou
sand, but it would be much greater this year. He expected
their house alone would ship at least eleven or twelve hundred.
They had two vessels of their own constantly employed in car
rying slaves to New Orleans." One of the vessels being in
port, Mr. Leavitt went on board of her.
" Her name is the Tribune. The Captain very obligingly took us
to all parts of the vessel. The hold is appropriated to the slaves, and
14*

158 jay's works.
is divided into two apartments. The after-hold will carry about eighty
women, and the other about one hundred men. On either side were
two platforms running the whole length ; one raised a few inches, and
the other half way up to the deck. They were about five or six feet
deep. On these the slaves lie, as close as they can stow away."
In 1831, the Brig Comet, a slaver, belonging to this very
house, and which had sailed from Alexandria with a cargo of
one hundred and sixty slaves, was wrecked on Abaco, one of the
Bahamas. But this vile commerce is carried on by land, as well as by
water. Slave-coffles are formed at the prisons in the District,
and thence set off on their dreary journey into the interior, liter
ally in chains. A gentlenYan thus describes a coffle he met on
the road in Kentucky :
" I discovered about forty black men all chained together in the fol
lowing manner : — each of them was hand-cuffed, and they were
arranged in rank and file. A chain, perhaps forty feet long, was
stretched between the two ranks, to which short chains were joined,
which connected with the hand-cuffs. Behind them were, I suppose,
thirty women in double rank ; the couples tied hand to hand."
These coffles pass the very Capitol in which are assembled
the Legislators by whom they are authorized, and over whose
heads is floating the broad banner of the Republic, too justly,
alas ! in such instances, described by an English satirist as
" The fustian flag that proudly waves,
In splendid mockery o'er a land of slaves."
But the tale of iniquity and infamy is not yet ended. In the
Capital of our confederated Republic, and with the sanction of
the Congress of the United States of America, men are li
censed FOR FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS TO DEAL IN HUMAN
FLESH !
And now we ask, Ought these things so to be ? If not, who
can remedy them ? There is no power on earth but Congress.
No State Legislature can interfere with the District of Colum
bia, or suppress the accursed traffic of which it is the seat. But
who shall rouse Congress to action ? Do we wait for the inter
position of slave-holders ? It is they who foster and encourage

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 159
the trade. Do we appeal to the benevolence of the Colonization
Society ? Alas, all their sympathy is expended on the victims
of the African commerce ; their constitution authorizes no inter
ference with the American traffic. We have seen how far their
first President himself embarked in this trade. No less than
four Vice Presidents of the Society are at this moment, Feb
ruary, 1835, members of Congress, and three of them Senators;
but not a word has fallen from their lips, relative to slavery, or
the slave-trade in the District of Columbia. We are wrong ;
one of them has spoken.
Mr. Charles Fenton Mercer, one of the most devoted
officers of the Society, during the present session of Congress
voted to lay on the table a petition presented to the House of
Representatives for the abohtion of slavery in the District, thus
endeavoring to stifle all inquiry into those outrages upon human
rights and human happiness which are perpetrated under the
authority of the national, Legislature. Yet this very gentleman
has distinguished himself by his zeal against the African slave-
trade. The American Anti-Slavery Society avows its intention to
endeavor to influence Congress to refuse any longer to authorize
these abominations. And is it for this avowal that its members
are branded as traitors and nullifiers ? If so, then they appeal
for their justification to the Constitution of the United States.
By the 8th Section of the 1st Article of that instrument Con
gress is authorized to " exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever," over the District of Columbia ; and by the first
article of the amendments, Congress is restrained from making
any law " abridging the freedom of speech or the press, or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances." Hence abolitionists
have believed that Congress possess the right to abolish slavery
in the District of Columbia, and that they themselves are
authorized to petition that it may be abolished. Such a belief
may, perhaps, indicate a " wild fanaticism ; " it seems, however,
to be a fanaticism shared by the Legislatures of Pennsylvania
and New York, and even by the House of Representatives.

160 jay's works.
In 1828, the Pennsylvania Legislature, by an almost unani
mous vote :
" Resolved, That the Senators of this State in the Senate of the
United States, are hereby requested to procure, if practicable, the
passage of a law to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, in such
a manner as they may consider consistent with the rights of individuals
and the Constitution of the United States."
On the 9th of January, 1829, the House of Representatives
"Resolved, That the Committee of the District of Columbia be
instructed to inquire into the expediency, (not the right,) of providing
by law for the gradual abofition of slavery in the District, in such man
ner that no individual shall be injured thereby."
On the 28th of January, 1829, a Committee of the New York
Assembly reported to the House :
" Your Committee cannot but view with astonishment that in the
Capital of this free 'and enlightened country, laws should exist, by
which the free citizens of a State are liable, without trial, and even
without the imputation of a crime, to be seized while prosecuting their
lawful business, immured in prison, and though free, unless claimed as
a slave, to be sold as such for the payment of jail fees."
The Committee recommended the following resolution, which
was adopted by the Assembly :
"Resolved, (if the Senate concur herein) That the Senators of this
State, in the Congress of the United States, be and are hereby instruct-
ed, and the Representatives of this State are requested to make every
possible exertion, to effect the passage of a law for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia."
And now again do we ask, are abolitionists fanatics and incen
diaries, and nullifiers, and traitors, and all that is foolish, and all
that is wicked, because they wish Congress to suppress slavery
and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia? It cannot
be that Messrs. Frelinghuysen, Walworth, Ogden, and other
upright and intelligent colonizationists have founded their griev
ous charges against abolitionists on this ground. Let us then
see how far abolitionists have merited these charges, for then-
endeavors to abolish slavery existing under the authority of the
several States.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 161

CHAPTER VI.
SLAVERY UNDER STATE AUTHORITY.
We have seen that the charges against the abohtionists
are vague and without specifications. Friend Hubbard and Mr.
Gurley, however, give their accusations something of a tangible
shape. The one asserts that abolitionists are laboring to abolish
slavery by causing the national legislation to bear directly on the
slave-holders, and compel them to emancipate their slaves : the
other insists that it is one of their fundamental principles, that
slavery is to be abolished in a great degree against and in defi
ance of the will of the South. The obvious and only meaning
of these assertions is, that it is the wish and object of the aboli
tionists to induce Congress to abolish slavery in the States.
One would think that this charge,' if true, might be easily proved :
some petition, some recommendation might be quoted; but so
far from having ever seen any proof of this charge, we have
never seen even an attempt to prove it.
Perhaps the testimony on this point of a Vice President of
the American Colonization Society, and one who is equally dis
tinguished by his moral worth and his zeal in the cause of
colonization, will be listened to with respect by many of his
brethren. Gerritt Smith, Esq., of New York, in a speech at the
Anniversary Meeting of the Society, 20th of January, 1834,
speaking of the Anti-Slavery Society, remarked :
" I believe that Society to be as honest as our own — as benevolent
and patriotic as our own. Its members love their fellow-men, and love
their country, and love the union of the Stales, as sincerely and as
strongly as we do ; and much as is said to the contrary on this point, I
have never seen a pari icle of evidence, that the Anti-Slavery Society
me'ditates any interference with the provisions of the laws of the slave
States on the subject of slavery. -It alleges, and I have no doubt, sin
cerely, that it is by moral influence alone, and mainly by the changes
wrought by the application of truth to the conscience, that it seeks°to
compass its object."
It seems Mr. Smith has never seen a particle of evidence in
support of the charge that abohtionists meditate interference

162 jay's WORKS.
with the laws of the slave States. They who make the charge,
offer not a particle of evidence in its behalf. We will now
offer a mass of evidence in proof of its utter falsity.
Our first witness is one whose competency and credibility will
not be questioned ; and who, like Mr. Smith, is a Vice President
of the Colonization Society. The following is extracted from a
letter to John Bolton, Esq., of Savannah, written for publica
tion by the Hon. Daniel Webster, and dated 17th May, 1833 :
" In my opinion, the domestic slavery of the Southern States is a
subject within the exclusive control of the States themselves ; and this,
I am sure, is the opinion of the whole North, Congress has no authority
to interfere in the emancipation of slaves, or in the treatment of them
in any of the States. This was so resolved in the House of Represen
tatives in 1790, oh the report of a committee consisting almost entirely
of Northern members ; and I do not know an instance of the expression
of a different opinion in either House of Congress since. I cannot say
that particular individuals might not possibly be found, who suppose
that Congress may possess some power over the subject, but I do not
know any such persons, and if there be any, I am sure they are very
few. The servitude of so great a portion of the population of the South
is undoubtedly regarded at the North as a great evil, moral and politi
cal, and the discussions upon it which have recently taken place in the
Legislatures of several of the slave-holding States, have been read with
very deep interest. But it is regarded, nevertheless, as an evil, the
remedy for which lies with those Legislatures themselves, to be provided
and applied according to their own sense of policy and duty. The im
putations which you say, and say truly, are constantly made against the
North, are, in my opinion, entirely destitute of any just foundation."
Thus we find that Mr. Webster, living in Boston, the seat of
the New England Anti-Slavery Society, a fellow-townsman of
Garrison's, and surrounded by abolitionists, knows nothing of
the nullifiers denounced by Mr. Ogden, nothing of the men who
Mr. Gurley says are for freeing the slaves in defiance of the will
of the South, nothing of those who the North Carolina Quaker
tells us, are for bringing the " national legislation " to bear upon
emancipation. And has Daniel Webster, a sworn sentinel on the ramparts
of the Constitution, been sleeping at his post, and is it to more
faithful and more intelligent watchmen, that we owe the discov
ery of the meditated treason ?
Mr. Webster's letter contains, as far as it goes, the toliti-

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 163
cal creed of the abolitionists, and we may challenge the
whole Colonization Society to name a single abolitionist who
does not most heartily assent to its doctrines. The New York
Emancipator transferred the letter to its columns, remarking :
"-Mr. Webster's opinion on the subject of slavery in the States of
this Union, so far as expressed, is just the same as has been more
than once avowed in every Anti-Slavery paper in the country — -that
it is a subject within the exclusive control oi the States themselves."
Emancipator, 6th July, 1833.
Not only has Mr. Garrison declared his readiness to sign his
name to every sentiment expressed in Mr. Webster's letter, but
he has used in the Liberator the following language :
" Abolitionists as clearly understand, and as sacredly regard the
constitutional powers of Congress, as do their traducers ; and they
know, and have again and again asserted, that Congress has no more
rightful authority to sit in judgment upon Southern slavery than it has to
legislate for the abolition of slavery in the French colonies."
We will now select a few from the many official declarations
of abolitionists on this subject.
" The national compact was so framed as to guarantee the legal pos
session of slaves ; and physical interference would be a violation of
Christian principles." 1st Rep. of New England Anti-Slavery Society,
p. 21.
" We do not aim at any interference with the constitutional rights
of the slave-holding States ; for Congress, as is well understood, has no
power to abolish slavery in the several States." Address of the N. Y.
city Anti-Slavery Society, p. 5.
" We freely and unanimously recognize the sovereignty of each
State, to legislate exclusively on the subject of slavery which is tolerated
within its limits; we consider that Congress has no right to interfere
with any of the slave States in relation to this subject." Declaration of
Anti-Slavery Convention at Philadelphia, 4th of December, 1833.
" While it admits that each State in which slavery exists has by the
Constitution of the United States exclusive right to legislate in regard
to its abolition, if shall aim to convince all our fellow-citizens, by argu
ments addressed to their understandings and consciences, that slave-
holding is a heinous sin in the sight of God." Constitution of American
Anti-Slavery Society.
In December, 1833, the managers of the New York city
Anti-Slavery Society printed and circulated a petition to Con-

164 jay's works.
;ress, for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.
[t commenced as follows :
" To the Honorable, the House of Representatives.
" Your petitioners, inhabitants of the city of New York, beg leave
o represent to your Honorable Body, that whatever views they may
intertain of the evils of slavery as it exists in certain States of the
federal Union, they are fully aware that these evils are beyond the
'onstiluiional control of the federal government; and so far from solicit-
ng your interposition for their removal, they would deprecate the
nierference of Congress on this subject, as a violation of the national
ompact." The petition then proceeds to assert the constitutional power
>f Congress to abolish slavery in the District, and asks for its
ixercise. And now we ask, is there anything in the extracts we have
;iven, to justify, excuse, or palliate the heavy accusations made
igainst abohtionists ? Surely ti must now be conceded that
lowever unconstitutional may be the emancipation contemplated
>y abohtionists, it is not to be effected by Congress. We lament
hat Chancellor Walworth did not condescend to explain how
md why it was unconstitutional. He is accustomed to assign
¦easons for his decisions, and it may fairly be doubted whether,
n withholding the reasons for the judgment he has pronounced
igainst abohtionists, he has administered equity. He has ad-
udged that the emancipation contemplated by abolitionists
vould " violate the rights of property ; " but in what way, does
lot appear. As physical force is disclaimed, and congressional
nterference deprecated, the alleged violation of property must
irise from the appeals made to the holders to surrender it. But
mrely the President of the New York Temperance Society does
lot regard property in human flesh and blood so much more
lacred than property in rum, that while he is laboring to induce
he owners of the latter, throughout the United States, to part
vith their property, he looks upon every man who tells his
ellow-citizens that it is then- duty to manumit their slaves, as
isolating the rights of property ! The venders of ardent spirits
n New Orleans and elsewhere, have as valid and constitutional

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 165
a title to their liquors as they have to their slaves. Now hear
what Mr. Frelinghuysen says of a traffic expressly sanctioned
by the laws of every State in the Union :
" It is mere tampering with temptation to come short of positive,
decided, and uncompromising opposition. We must not only resist,
we must drive it. To stand on the defensive merely, is to aid in its
triumph." 7th Rep. Am. Temp. Soc, p. 51.
Yet they who by arguments are resisting, or driving the
traffic in the souls and bodies of men, are accused of " seeking
to destroy our happy Union ! "
The State Legislatures have as much right to authorize
lotteries, as they have to authorize slavery, yet the Pennsylva
nia Society for abolishing lotteries is established for the avowed
purpose of abolishing, by moral influence, lotteries in other
States, for there are none in its own. No objection is made to
the constitutionality of that Society, yet epithets seem to be
wanting to express the abhorrence felt for those who are aim
ing by the same means to rescue millions from a bondage
destructive to their happiness in this world, and in that which is
to come !
In the remarks we have made on the language used by Chan
cellor Walworth and his two associates, no unkind feelings have
mingled. Not a suspicion of the goodness of their motives has
crossed our mind ; we admire them for their talents, and esteem
them for their virtues ; and sincerely do we regret, that men
who possess the power of doing so much good, should ever,
through want of information, so grievously misapply it.
And now it may be asked, if abolitionists intend to use only
moral means, what good can they effect by using those means at
the North, where slavery does not exist ? But although slavery
does not exist at the North, it is excused and justified at the
North ; and Southern Christians are countenanced in keeping
their fellow-men in bondage and in ignorance, by their Northern
brethren. We have already seen the baneful influence of the
Colonization Society on the treatment of the free negroes at the
North ; the Black Act of Connecticut is still in force, and Judge
Daggett's decision remains unreversed. Slavery is in full vigor
15

166 jay's WORKS.
under the authority of Congress, and sanctioned by a majority
consisting of Northern members ; and our whole country is dis
graced, and humanity and religion outraged by an extensive and
abominable slave-trade, conducted under the same sanction. If,
therefore, it could be foreseen, that no slave in any of the States
would ever be liberated, through the influence of Northern Anti-
Slavery Societies, there would still remain great and glorious
objects to stimulate their zeal, to employ all their energies, and
abundantly to reward all their labors. But neither their labors
nor rewards will be confined to the North. The consciences of
Southern Christians, so long lulled by the opiate of colonization,
are awakening to duty. Southern divines are beginning to
acknowledge the sinfulness of slavery, and recent slave-holders
are now proclaiming the safety and duty of immediate emanci
pation. While Northern colonizationists are sounding the tocsin, and
girding on their armor, and rushing to the battle, to protect the
rights of then- Southern brethren, those very brethren are begin
ning to listen to the friendly admonitions of abohtionists, and
are inquiring what they must do to escape the mighty perils to
which they are exposed. On the 19th of March, a convention
of gentlemen from different parts of Kentucky assembled at
Danville, and amid a slave population of 165,000, organized
" The Kentucky Anti-Slavery Society, Auxiliary to the
American Anti-Slavery Society ; and appointed a delegate to
attend the anniversary of the parent Institution at New York !
While the professors of many of our Northern colleges are
laboring with trembling solicitude to stifle all discussion respect
ing slavery among then- pupils, James M. Buchanan, a profes
sor of Centre College, has had the moral courage to accept the
station of President of the Kentucky Society. Indeed, the
whole nation has been roused from its lethargy, and in almost
every circle and neighborhood, the subject of abolition is attract
ing attention ; the violence and persecution experienced by
abolitionists, instead of suppressing, has promoted discussion ;
and they have reason to hope, that slavery will ultimately be
abolished, by the voluntary action of the South, in compliance
with the dictates of policy and of duty.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 167

CHAPTER VII.
SAFETY OF IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION.
Although we may have succeeded in proving that the eman
cipation contemplated by abolitionists is not " unconstitutional,"
yet many may conscientiously doubt whether it would be safe
and wise.
A few years only have elapsed since the use of ardent spirits
was universally countenanced by all classes of the' community ;
and when the few who contended that their use was sinful, and
ought to be immediately abandoned, were deemed no less vision
ary and fanatical than those are now who hold the same doctrine
in regard to slavery.
The whole Colonization Society, with scarcely a solitary
exception,* denounce immediate emancipation as dangerous, or
rather as utterly ruinous, to the whites. Their objections were
thus briefly summed up by the Rev. Dr. Hawkes, in his speech
at a colonization meeting in New York :
" But if the plan of colonization be abandoned, what remains ? Are
the slaves fitted for freedom ? No ; and if they are let loose at once,
they must of necessity, to procure a living, either beg or steal, or de
stroy and displace the whites." New York Com. Adv., 10th Oct., 1833.
Here we have broad, unqualified assertions, without a particle
6i proof. We find it taken for granted, that if the slaves are
at once restored to hberty, they must, from necessity, beg or
steal, or destroy and displace the whites. What causes will
produce this necessity, we are uninformed ; why it will be im
possible for liberated slaves to work for wages, is unexplained.
Slavery is property in human beings. Immediate emancipation
is therefore nothing more than the immediate cessation of this
property. But how does this cessation of property imply that
those who were the subjects of it must be " let loose ? " Will
they not, like other persons,- be subject to the control of law,
* The only exception known to the writer, is G. Smith, Esq.

168 jay's works.
and responsible for their conduct ? If incapable of providing
for themselves, may they not, like children, apprentices, and
paupers, be compelled to labor for their own maintenance ? Im
mediate emancipation does not necessarily contemplate any
relaxation of the restraints of government or morality; any
admission to political rights, or improper exemption from com
pulsory labor. What then does such emancipation imply ? It
implies, that black men, being no longer property, will be capa
ble of entering into the marriage state, and of exercising the
rights, and enjoying the blessings of the conjugal and parental
relations ; it implies, that they will be entitled to the fruits of
their honest industry, to the protection of the laws of the land,
and to the privilege of securing a happy immortality, by learning
and obeying the will of their Creator.
Now it is almost universally supposed that such emancipation
would, as a matter of course, lead to insurrection, robbery, and
massacre. Yet this opinion will, on examination, be found
utterly irreconcilable with the divine economy, the principles of
human nature, and the testimony of experience.
It is a trite remark, that nations are punished and rewarded
in this world, and individuals in the next ; and both sacred and
profane history will be searched in vain for an instance in which
the Supreme Ruler has permitted a nation to suffer for doing
justice and loving mercy. To believe that God would permit
any community to be destroyed, merely because it had ceased
to do evil, is to call in question the equity of his government, or
the power of his providence. Who that acknowledges the truth
of Revelation, can doubt, that if slavery be sinful, the sooner
we part with it, the more confidently may we rely on the divine
favor and protection ? Infidelity alone will seek safety in human
counsels, when opposed to the divine will.
But the opinion we are considering is no less at variance with
the motives and passions of our common nature than with the
dictates of Christian faith.
What is the theory on which this opinion rests ? Why, that
cruelty, injustice and grievous oppression, render men quiet,
docile, and inoffensive subjects ; and that if delivered from this

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 169
cruelty, injustice, and oppression, they will rob and murder their
deliverers !
This theory is happily unsupported by any facts, and rests
upon the simple dogma that the slaves are not yet fitted for
freedom. Now we would ask, What it meant by fitness for
freedom ? Ought a man tobe a slave, unless he can read, write,
and cipher ? Must he be taught accounts, before he can receive
wages ? Should he understand law, before he enjoys its pro
tection ? Must he be instructed in morals, before he reads his
Bible ? H all these are pre-requisites for freedom, how and
when are they to be acquired in slavery?
If one century of bondage has not produced this fitness, how
many will ? Are our slaves more fit now, than they were ten,
twenty, fifty years ago ? Let the history of slave legislation
answer the inquiry. When the British government insisted that
female slaves should no longer be flogged naked in the colonies,
the Jamaica legislature replied, that it would be impossible to
lay aside the practice " until the negro women have acquired
more of the sense of shame which distinguishes European
females." Slaves, while such, will become fit for freedom as
soon, but notfcgooner, than negro women will become modest in
consequence of the West Indian mode of correction. No post
ponement of emancipation will increase the fitness of slaves for
freedom ; and to wait for this fitness, resembles the conduct of
the simpleton who loitered by the brook, expecting to pass dry-
shod after the water had run off.
The conclusion to which religion and common sense would
lead us on this subject, is most abundantly confirmed by experi
ence. Passing by the emancipation of the serfs of Europe, let
us advert to various instances of the sudden abolition of negro
slavery, and let us see how far the theory we are considering is
supported by facts.
On the 10th of October, 1811, the Congress of Chili decreed
that every child born after that day should be free.
On the 9th of April, 1812, the government of Buenos Ayres
ordered that every child born after 1st January, 1813, should
be free. 16*

170 jay's WORKS.
On the 19th of July, 1821, the Congress of Colombia passed
an act, emancipating all slaves who had borne arms in favor of
the Republic, and providing for the emancipation, in eighteen
years, of the whole slave population of 280,000.
On the 15th of September, 1821, the government of Mexico
granted instantaneous and unconditional emancipation to every
slave. On the 4th of July, 1827, ten thousand slaves were emanci
pated in the State of New York by act of the Legislature.
In all these various instances, not one case of insurrection or
of bloodshed is known to have resulted from emancipation. But
St. Domingo — ah, what recollections are awakened by that
name ! With that name are associated the most irrefragable
proofs of the safety and wisdom of immediate emancipation,
and of the ability of the African race to value, defend, and
enjoy the blessings of freedom. The apologists of slavery are
constantly reminding abohtionists of the " scenes in St. Do
mingo." Were the pubhc famihar with the origin and history
of those scenes, none but abohtionists would dare to refer to
them. We will endeavor in the next chapter to dispel the ignor
ance which so extensively prevails relative to the " scenes in St.
Domingo," and we trust our efforts will furnish new confirmation
of the great truth, that the path of duty is the path of safety.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 171

CHAPTER VIII.
EMANCIPATION IN ST. DOMINGO AND GUADALOUPE, AND
PRESENT STATE OF ST. DOMINGO.
In 1790, the population of the French part of St. Domingo
was estimated at 686,000. Of this number, 42,000 were white,
44,000 free people of color, and 600,000 slaves. At the com
mencement of the French Revolution the free colored people
petitioned the National Assembly to be admitted to political
rights, and sent a deputation to Paris to attend to their interests.
On the 8th of March, 1790, a law was passed, granting to the
colonies the right of holding representative assembhes, and of
exercising, to a certain extent, legislative authority. On the
28th of the same month, another law was passed, declaring that
" all free persons in the colonies, who were proprietors, and
residents of two years' [standing, and who contribute to the
exigencies of the State, shall exercise the right of voting."
The planters insisted that this law did not apply to free color
ed persons. They proceeded to elect a general assembly, and
in this election the free blacks were, with but few exceptions,
prevented from voting. The newly elected assembly issued a
manifesto, declaring they would rather die, than divide their
political rights with " a bastard and degenerated race." A por
tion of the free colored people resolved to maintain the rights
given them by the mother country, and assembled in arms under
one of their own number named Oge. A letter addressed by
this chief to the St. Domingo assembly is fortunately extant,
and explains the true origin of those awful calamities, which it
is'found expedient to ascribe to the abolition of slavery.
" Sirs, — A prejudice for a long time upheld, is at last about to fall.
Charged with a commission honorable to myself, I call upon you to
proclaim throughout the colony the decree of the National Assembly
of the 28th of March, which gives, without distinction, to every free
citizen the right of being admitted' to all duties and functions whatever.
My pretentions are just, and I do hope you will regard them. I shall
not have recourse to any raising of the slave gangs. It is unnecessary,

172 jay's works.
and would be unworthy of me. I wish you to appreciate duly the
purity of my intentions. When I soHcited of the National Assembly *
the decree I obtained in favor of our American colonists, known under
the hitherto injurious distinction of the mixed race, I never compre
hended in my claims the negroes in a state of slavery. You and our ad
versaries have mixed this with my proceedings to destroy my estimation
in the minds of all well-disposed people: but I have demanded only
concessions for a class of free men, who have endured the yoke of your
oppression for two centuries. We have no wish but for the execution
of the decree of the 28th of March. We insist on its promulgation;
and we cease not to repeat to our friends, that our adversaries are not
merely unjust to us, but to themselves, for they do not seem to know
that their interests are one with ours. Before employing the means at
my command, I will see what good temper will do ; but if, contrary to
my object, you refuse what is asked, I will not answer for those disor
ders which may arise from merited revenge."
The shout of battle was the only answer returned to this let
ter. The free blacks were defeated, and their brave leader
being taken prisoner, was, with a barbarity equalled only by its
folly, broken alive on the wheel. A ferocious struggle now com
menced between the two parties, and Oge's death was awfully
avenged. On the 15th of May, 1791, the French Convention
issued a decree declaring explicitly, that " free- colored persons
were entitled to all the rights of citizenship." The planters,
however, refused to submit till after 2,000 whites and 10,000
blacks had perished. The free blacks had armed their own
slaves ; and many of the slaves belonging to the whites, taking
advantage of the disturbed state of the island, revolted. The
general assembly at length became alarmed, and on the 20th of
September, 1791, issued a proclamation announcing their acqui
escence in the decree of the 15th of May, admitting the free
blacks to political equality with the whites. This proclamation
immediately restored peace, and the free blacks even assisted the
planters in reducing to obedience their revolted slaves. The peace,
however, was of short duration. Intelligence was soon received
that the French Convention had yielded to the clamors of the
planters, and on the 24th of September, only four days after the
Assembly's proclamation, had repealed the decree giving politi
cal rights to the free blacks. The irritation caused by this
* Oge had been one of the deputies who were sent to Paris.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 173
measure may easily be imagined, and the feelings of the free
blacks were exasperated by an act of folly and presumption on
the part of the Colonial Assembly. This body passed an order
for disarming the whole free colored population. That popula
tion, however, instead of surrendering their arms, challenged
their proud oppressors to take them, and immediately renewed
the war.
On the 4th of April, 1792, the vacillating policy of the French
government led it once more to pass a decree, investing the free
negroes in the colonies with political rights ; and three Commis
sioners, with 6,000 troops, were sent to St. Domingo to enforce
the decree. The Commissioners arrived on the 13th of Sep
tember, and assumed the government of the island. In June,
1793, they quarrelled with the governor, and each party took
arms. The Commissioners called to their aid 3,000 revolted
slaves, promising pardon for the past, and freedom for the future.
About this time it was estimated that no less than 10,000 of the
white inhabitants had fled from the island, in consequence of its
disturbed state, and this, be it remembered, before a single slave
had been emancipated. The Commissioners were successful in
their contest with the governor, and retained the supreme power
in their own hands. But a new danger threatened them. The
planters were dissatisfied with the political rights conferred on the
blacks, and were in many instances hostile to the Republic which
had been reared on the ruins of the French Monarchy. They
therefore entered into intrigues with the British Government,
inviting it to take possession of the island, hoping that thus the
old order of things would be restored. The Commissioners
became acquainted with the intentions of the British to invade
the island. Their only defensive force consisted of the 6,000
French troops and about 15,000 militia. On the latter they
were sensible but little reliance could be placed. Under these
circumstances, they determined to emancipate the slaves, in
order that the whole colored population might thus be induced
to array itself under the Republican standard. Bryant Edwards,
a well-known English writer, and a most devoted apologist for
slavery, in his history of this affair, after stating as a fact

174 jay's works.
within his own knowledge, the overtures made by the St. Do
mingo planters to Great Britain, and that the Commissioners
could not muster more than 22,000 effective men, adds ; " These
being necessarily dispersed in detachments throughout the
different provinces, became, on that account, little formidable to
an invading army. Aware of this circumstance, the Commis
sioners, on the first intimation of an attack from the English,
resorted to the desperate expedient of proclaiming all manner of
slavery abolished."
The proclamation was made in September, 1793, and on the
19th of the same month, the British armament, under Colonel
White, arrived at Jeremie, and took possession of the town, and
afterwards entered Port au Prince. Thus we find that the
abolition of slavery in St. Domingo was not, as is generally
supposed, the result of an insurrection by the slaves, but an act
of political expediency. Let us now see what were the conse
quences of this act. The whole colored population remained
loyal to the Repubhcan cause. The British were masters only
of the soil covered by their troops, and at length, wearied out by
the inveterate opposition they experienced, they abandoned all
hopes of conquest, and in 1798 evacuated the island. In the
mean time, the intercourse between the colony and the mother
country became more and more interrupted. The seas were
scoured by British cruisers, and the colonists were left by France
to govern themselves. The whole colonial administration had
been entirely subverted, the Commmissioners had returned to
France, and it became necessary to adopt some political system.
Under these circumstances, Toussaint, a black, who had acquired
power and influence, submitted, in 1801, to a general assembly,
a republican constitution, which was adopted, and the island was
declared to be an independent State on the 1st of July, 1801.
But during all this time, what was the conduct of the emanci
pated slaves ? Before we answer this question, let us remind the
reader that the emancipation was not only immediate but unpre
meditated. No measures had been taken to fit about 600,000
slaves for freedom, but suddenly, unexpectedly, almost in the
twinkling of an eye, they ceased to be property; and were in-

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

175

vested with the rights of human nature. And was the theory of
the Rev. Dr. Hawkes verified in St. Domingo ? Did the manu
mitted slaves maintain themselves by begging and stealing, or
did they destroy and displace the whites ? Let an eye-witness
answer the inquiry. Col. Malefant, then a resident on the
island, says in his Memoir e historique et politique des colonies et
particulierement de celle de St. Domingue," p. 58 : —
" After this public act of emancipation, the negroes remained quiet
both in the south and in the west, and they continued to work upon
all the plantations. There were estates, indeed, which had neither
owners nor managers resident upon them, for some of them had
been put in prison by Montburn, and others, fearing the same fate,
had fled to the quarter which had just been given up to the English.
Yet upon these estates, though abandoned, the negroes continued then-
labors, where there were any, even inferior agents to guide them, and
on those estates where no white men were left to direct them, they
betook themselves to planting of provisions : but upon all the planta
tions where the whites resided, the blacks continued to labor quietiy as

In another place, (p. 125,) he says:
" How did I succeed in the plain of the Cul de Sac, and on the
plantation Gouraud, more than eight months after hberty had been
granted to the blacks ? Let those who knew me at that time, and even
the blacks themselves be asked. They will reply that not a single
negro upon that plantation, consisting of four hundred and fifty labor
ers, refused to work, and yet this plantation was thought to be under
the worst discipline, and the slaves the most idle of any in the plain.
I myself inspired the same activity into three other plantations of
which I had the management."
He goes on to assert that " the colony was flourishing under
Toussaint — the whites lived happily, and in peace upon their
estates, and the negroes continued to work for them." Toussaint
came into power under the French authority, 1796, and re
mained in power till 1802, or the commencement of the war
with France. Thus it appears that the manumitted slaves con
tinued quietly at work, from their emancipation in 1793, till
1802, a period of about eight years.
This was not, let it be remembered, a season of peace. Dur
ing most of the time a fierce war was waged against the English
invaders. In this war a portion of the planters took part with

176 jay's WORKS.
the enemy, and experienced at the hands of the blacks, those
cruelties which so often distinguish a civil war. But on a careful
and scrupulous examination of the history of this period, we
cannot find, that from the date of the emancipation in- 1793, to
the French invasion in 1802, a single white man was injured by
the liberated slaves, unless he had previously placed himself in
the attitude of a political enemy by siding with the British.
Immediately on the evacuation of the island by the British, pro
found tranquillity prevailed, and the planters who remained, and
the emigrants who returned, enjoyed their estates without
molestation. Malefant is not the only witness we can cite to these facts.
General Lacroix, who pubhshed his " Memoirs for a history of
St. Domingo," at Paris, in 1819, speaking of the colony, in 1797,

" It marched as by enchantment towards its ancient splendor : culti
vation prospered ; every day produced perceptible proofs of its pro
gress. The city of the Cape, and the plantations of the North, rose up
again visibly to the eye." P. 811.
The author of " the History of St. Domingo," printed in Lon
don, 1818, speaking of Toussaint, says :
" When he restored many of the planters to their estates, there was
no restoration of their former property in human beings. No human
being "was to he bought or sold. Severe tasks, flagellations, and scanty
food, were no longer to be endured. The planters were obliged to
employ their laborers on the footing of hired servants ; and the negroes
were required to labor for their own Uvehhood. The amount of
remuneration was not left to individual generosity or private agree
ment, but it was fixed by law, that the cultivators should have for their
wages a third part of the crops. While this ample encouragement was
afforded for the excitement of industry, penalties were at the same
time denounced for the punishment of idleness."
" The effects of these regulations were visible throughout the coun
try. Obliged to work, but in a moderate manner, and for handsome
wages, and at liberty for the most part to choose their own masters, the
plantation negroes were in general contented, healthy and happy."*
* These representations are confirmed by the fact, that the exports from
St. Domingo in 1801, seven years after emancipation, were of su«-ar, 18,535,-
132 lbs. ; coffee, 43,420,270 lbs. ; cotton, 2,480,340 lbs. McCulloc%'s Diet, of
Commerce, p. 926.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 177
And now let abohtionists be reminded of the " scenes in St.
Domingo ; " yes, let those scenes be constantly kept before the
pubhc as an awful and affecting memento of the justice due to
the free blacks, and as a glorious demonstration of the perfect
safety of immediate and unconditional emancipation.
Yet men who believe it safe to do immediate justice, and who
find from history that God never permits a nation to suffer for
obeying his commands, are held up to the derision and detesta
tion of the community as fanatics and incendiaries. Let us see
what new proofs of their fanaticism are afforded by the history
of the abohtion of slavery in Guadaloupe.
On the 20th of April, 1794, a British armament, under Sir
Charles Grey, took the French island of Guadaloupe, many of
the planters, as in St. Domingo, being royalists and favoring the
cause of the invaders.
On the 5th of June following, a French force, under Victor
Hugo, arrived to dispute the possession of the island. The
Repubhcan general immediately proclaimed the freedom of the
slaves, in pursuance of a decree of the National Assembly of
the preceding February, and arming the negroes, led them
against the enemy. The English were soon confined within
narrow quarters, and by the 10th of December, were compelled
to evacuate the island. From this time, Guadaloupe remained
a dependance of France till 1810, when it was retaken by the
English. On the abohtion of slavery la police rurale was substituted
for it. The slaves were converted into free laborers, and were
entitled to their food and one-fourth of the produce of their
labor. They were 85,000 in number, and the whites only
13,000. So far was the cultivation of the island from being
suspended by emancipation, that in 1801, an official report
stated the plantations as follows, viz. : of sugar, 390 ; of coffee,
1355 ; of cotton, 328 ; and 25 grass farms. The peace of
Amiens unhappily afforded Bonaparte an opportunity to re
establish slavery in Guadaloupe. In the summer of 1802,
Richepanse landed on the island at the head of a powerful
French force, and in a short time, by the indiscriminate mas-
16

178 jay's WORKS.
sacre of all who opposed his purpose, fulfilled the object of
his mission at-the sacrifice, it is said, of nearly 20,000 negro
lives. Immediately preceding this atrocious act, all was peace and
prosperity; and so late as February, 1802, the supreme council
of Guadaloupe, in an official document, alluding to the tran
quillity which reigned throughout the island, observed :
" We shall have the satisfaction of having given an example, which
will prove that all classes of people may five in perfect harmony with
each other, under an administration which secures justice to all
CLASSES." In Guadaloupe, we see an instance of a great preponderating
slave population suddenly emancipated, and yet peaceably pur
suing their labors for seven years, and living in harmony with
the white proprietors.
If we are to believe colonizationists, the negro character is to
be exhibited ' in all its perfection in Liberia ; but in America,
the black man can never rise from his present degradation. Do
we inquire the reason, we are promptly told that no equality
can subsist between the white and black races, and that the
latter to be great and happy must live alone. Strange it is, that
instead of referring to St. Domingo as an apt illustration of
their theory, they are fond of citing the present state of that island
as a warning against abolition, — as a proof that free negroes
are too indolent to work, too deficient in enterprise to attain
national prosperity. If such be the fact how faithless must, be
their predictions of the future glory of Liberia. Let us now
attend to the gloomy and disheartening account which the chair
man of the Executive Committee of the New York. Colonization
Society gives us of St. Domingo ; an account which, if true,
ought to induce the Society to abandon their enterprise.
" More than thirty years have elapsed since slavery was abolished
in St. Domingo. Through scenes of unparalleled devastation and
blood, the blacks expelled their white masters, and have ever since lived
under a government of their own. But from the day of their emanci
pation to the present, the population, for the most part, have been idle
and worthless."

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 179
" St. Domingo was the garden of the new world — the richest of the
Indies. But its villas has gone to ruin, and its fields run to waste.
Thorns and briars have choked their gardens, and the plantations have
been barren from idleness. The government has ever been despotic,
and of necessity ; and at last its power has been called forth for
the regulation of labor — the labor of freemen, to prevent the island
from going entirely to ruin. The following extract from a late Haytien
enactment is in point, and will serve as a practical commentary upon
the mad schemes of our well-meaning but deluded philanthropists. We
have extracted the following articles, which render the condition of the
free blacks very little different from, if not actually worse than the con
dition of the slaves in any part of the United States." * Com. Advertiser,
24th of September, 1834.
Then follow extracts from the rural code of Hayti, from
which it appears, that all persons without land or occupation are
compelled to labor, and are liable to imprisonment for idleness.
It is remarkable that the philanthropists, on whose mad
schemes this code is supposed to be a commentary, are admitted
on the 24th of September to be " well-meaning," whereas, on
the 9th of June preceding, we were assured by this same gen
tleman, that the " design " of these philanthropists was " to
foment a servile war in the South." To convince us how unfit
negroes are for freedom, we are here informed that thirty years
after slavery was abolished in St. Domingo, the government has
at last exerted its power for the regulation of labor, to prevent
the island from going entirely to ruin. It so happens that the regu
lation of labor, instead of being an expedient resolved on at last to
save the island from ruin, was coeval with the act of emancipa-
* This last assertion is so very extraordinary, that we are constrained to
believe Mr. Stone has never read the " enactment" from which he quotes.
The present rural code of Hayti was adopted in 1826. It is a document filling
about fifteen folio pages, and displays a strong desire to secure justice to
the laborers. By this code, all "who shall not be able to show that they
possess the means of subsistence, shall be bound to cultivate the earth."
Such persons are required to aire themselves as farm laborers, but they are
at perfect liberty to select their employer. The parties enter into written
contracts for not less than three, nor more than nine years. The compen
sation to the laborers on a farm, varies according to the terms of the contract,
from one-fourth to one-half of the whole produce of the farm. All disputes
between the employer and his people are settled by a justice of the peace.
The employer can no more flog or otherwise punish his " cultivators," than
an American farmer can his hired laborers. Sot even for crimes is corporal
punishment allowed in Hayti. The cultivator has, bv law, the whole of
Saturday and Sunday to himself, and on other days he cannot be required
to work after sunset. There is nothing to prevent him from accturmlatmg
property by industry and economy, buying a farm and hiring laborers in mS
turn.

180 jay's works.
tion. On the 28th of February, 1794, Etienne Polverel, " civil
commissary of the Republic, delegated to the French Leeward
islands in America, for the purpose of reestablishing the pubhc
order and tranquillity," published in the name of the French
people a rural code for the government of the liberated slaves
in St. Domingo. It is long, and descends to minute particulars ;
a brief extract will show that it regulated labor.
" The ordinary day's labor is limited to about nine hours, viz. : from
sunrise to half-past eight. — from half-past nine to twelve — and from
two to sunset ; and in crop time, it shall be extended to eight o'clock
in the evening. The laborers shall be bound to obey the overseers,
and the overseers to obey each other, according to their rank ; but their
authority shall be confined to the cultivation and good order of the
plantation. Those laborers who in these points shall refuse to obey the
order of the overseers, shall be subject to. a month's imprisonment, with
labor during the day on public works," &c, &c.
This code continued in force till August, 1798, when it was
somewhat modified by Toussaint, and we have already seen, on
the authority of the history of St. Domingo, that " the planters
were obliged to employ their laborers on the footing of hired
servants, and the negroes were required to labor for their liveli
hood." Hence it appears that the regulation of labor in St.
Domingo is not, as Mr. Stone seems to suppose, a recent exer
tion of power on the part of the government.
But what shall we say of the ruined villas, the barren plan
tations, the gardens choked with thorns ? Admitting Mr.
Stone's melancholy picture to be correct, cannot we_explain it
on other principles than such as would be fatal to the freedom
and happiness of millions ? The zealous editor seems wholly
to have forgotten the terrible war which the Haytiens were com
pelled to wage in defence of their liberty. In 1802, a French
army landed in St. Domingo, for the purpose of again reducing
its inhabitants to slavery, and a war ensued, which, for its deso
lating fury, is probably without a parallel. A historian of this
war, thus concludes his account of it :
" At length, in the month of December, 1803, the island was finally
abandoned, a mere handful of the French troops escaping the destruc
tion which had already overtaken 60,000 of their fellows ! Thus for

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 181
nearly two years, with a very brief interval, had a war raged in St.
Domingo, singularly ferocious and vindictive in its character, and
directed latterly more to extermination than to conquest, sparing neither
sex nor age, and sweeping away from the whole face of the plains of
that beautiful island every trace of cultivation. So complete was the
extinction of all sugar culture in particular, that for a time not an
ounce of that article was procurable. The very roots and fruits on
which subsistence depended, were cultivated only in mornes. Desola
tion, therefore, could hardly be conceived more complete, than pre
vailed in 1804 and 1805 over all those" parts of the colony which had
formerly been covered with plantations ; and it is well known how soon
the rank vegetation of a tropical climate converts the neglected plan
tation into jungle."
And is it a proof that slaves ought never to be emancipated
that St. Domingo has not in thirty years, after such wide-spread
desolation, become again in the hands of men recently delivered
from bondage, and for the most part, poor and ignorant, " the
garden of the new world ? " And was, indeed, that an " idle
and worthless " population which successfully resisted the arms
of England and, of France, and achieved their freedom by a
heroic sacrifice of their lives and property — a sacrifice which,
had their complexion been white, would have been celebrated
by poets and orators in every portion of the civilized world ?
Let us now inquire, whether the present state oi the island is
in truth such as is alleged.
The Rev. Simon Clough, D. D., LL. D., has lately pubhshed
a pamphlet, (" Appeal to the Citizens of the United States ")
in which he undertakes to justify slavery from the Scriptures,
and to prove that all clergymen who advocate immediate aboli
tion, are " false teachers," and ought to be dismissed by their
congregations. Now this most veracious teacher, speaking of
St. Domingo, assures us, p. 16 : "At the present time,* there is
not one sugar, coffee, or cotton plantation on the island. There
is now exported about five million pounds of inferior coffee, which
grows wild, and is picked up by the inhabitants off the ground,
where it falls after it becomes ripe."
Strange it is, that this island, if in the state described by
Messrs. Stone and Clough, should support a population of
* The pamphlet was published in New York, 1834.
16*

182 jay's works.
935,050.* Still more strange is it, that when the whole export
of coffee is only about five million pounds, it should appear from
the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, that the coffee
exported in 1833, from Hayti to the United States alone, amount
ed to eleven million, seven hundred eighty-four thousand, eight
hundred and thirty-five pounds. Most passing strange is it, that
the imports into this country, in the same year, from an island
in which there is not ONE* sugar, coffee, or cotton plantation ;
with an idle and worthless population ; with its fields run to
waste, and its plantations barren from idleness, should neverthe
less exceed in value our imports in the same period, from either
Prussia — Sweden and Norway — Denmark, and the Danish
West Indies — Ireland and Scotland — Holland — Belgium —
Dutch East Indies — British West Indies — Spain — Portugal
— all Italy — Turkey and the Levant — or any one repubhc in
South America ! f
Neither Mr. Stone nor Dr. Clough professes to speak from
personal observation. Let us then listen to aneye-witness. In
1831, was published in a London periodical, the journal of a
traveller in Hayti. The following are extracts :
" Port au Prince, Island of Hayti, June 25, 1830.
" Being aware that this city had very recently suffered greatly by
fire, I expected to see an unsightly waste of ruin and decay ; but the
lots are rebuilt, and many a splendid and substantial edifice, surpassing
those to be seen in the city of Kingston in Jamaica, has arisen as the
first fruits of the security which property enjoys, by the recognized
independence of Hayti.
" I have made an excursion or two, just out of the town, to the little
cottage settlements on the side of the mountain above the city. I am
told, that in the ancient regime, (that is the phrase here for the old
state of things,) the plains were a source of so abundant a return for
the industry of the proprietor, that the mountains in this neighborhood
were comparatively neglected, so that the ' Camp des Fourmis,' the
range of hills so called, extending from Point Lamentine to the Cul de
Sac, were heretofore never cultivated as they are now. At present
they are covered with a thousand small settlements appropriated to coffee,
and provisions, and fruits, and vegetables, in which the advantages of
irrigation, presented by the frequent springs, bursting from the moun-
* Census of 1824.
fSee documents accompanying Letters from Secretary of the Treasury to
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 21st April, 1834.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 183
tain ravines, have been diligently attended to in the agricultural econ
omy. The water is trenched over the sunny surface of each projecting
irregularity of the ridge ; and height above height, the cottage of the
humble cultivator is seen ; or the substantial country-seat of the Hay-
tien merchant, with its baths, bowers, and terraced gardens, has been
erected. " Port au Prince, though by no means a handsome town, is at this
day, in style, and one may say splendor, far superior to what it was in
the colonial period of its history.
" The frequent calamities to which it had been subjected from fire,
and the immense and valuable property lost by earthquakes in the
years 1820 and 1822, have led the Haytiens to attempt providing
against the two-fold liability, as they expressed it, of being bouleverse
et incendie. They have commenced reerecting some of the houses
destroyed by these conflagrations, with stone or brick, cased over
wooden frames, at once to sustain the shock of the earthquake, and to
repel the action of the fire. They cover the roofs with tiles or slates,
rather than shingles ; and erect their stores for merchandise with fire
proof terraces, and wrought-iron doors and windows. These buildings
have galleries and arched colonnades, with heavy cornices and balus
trades screening the roof ; and floors of variegated marble, and tiles in
the upper as well as lower stories. If continued generally, they will
render this city not only one of the most elegant in the West Indies,
but one in which the houses will exhibit an interior economy, the very
best adapted to the necessities of the climate. The decorations are
appropriate. The rich, varied mahogany of the country is manufac
tured into elegant furniture by the artisans here ; and the French taste
of gilded mirrors, or Molu clocks, and porcelain vases, filled with arti
ficial flowers, impart to the dwellings of the simple Haytiens an air of
refinement not unworthy of Europe.
" The scene presented to the view of the traveller who quits the city
of Port au Prince, to journey on the highway to the mountains, through
a wild waste, is not a solitary one. On the road he will meet a multi
tude of cultivators coming to the city market, with horses and asses
loaded with provisions. He will see wagons with produce drawn by
hardy and healthy cattle. If he departs from the high road, and turns
to the right hand through one of the woodland paths, he will find him
self entering into open grounds, covered with verdant fields ; he will
see traces every where visible of renewed cultivation ; mansions re-
erected ; aqueducts reconducting their streams to irrigate the land ; the
sound of water-mills at work ; cottages no longer deserted, but tenanted
by laborers once more issuing from them to gather in the harvest of
the teeming soil.
" The island of Jamaica does not exhibit a plantation better estab
lished than Chateau Blond ; whether we" consider the resources of the
land, or the mechanical economy by which those resources are com
manded, it is a splendid establishment.
" To me who have had an opportunity from the day of my birth, and
long residence in a slave colony, of forming by comparison a correct
estimate of this people's advancement, the general quiet conduct and
respectful behavior of all classes here, publicly and privately, is a
matter exciting great surprise."

184 jay's WORKS.
All this, it may be said, is anonymous testimony. It is so,
and yet it seems entitled to at least as much weight as the bare,
naked assertions of Messrs. Stone and Clough. We will now
offer testimony to which we presume no objection will be made.
The following are extracts from " the report of the select com
mittee on the extinction of slavery throughout the British Do
minions, with minutes of evidence, ordered by the House of
Commons to be printed, 11th August, 1832."
Evidence of Mr. Robert Sutherland. t
" Are there many persons who work for hire in Hayti ?
" Yes, the whole cultivation is carried on by free labor.
" Do these persons work with industry and vigor ? •
" I have no reason to think they do not. The proof that free labor
in Hayti answers, is this : that after the French were expelled, there was
absolutely no sugar work ; there was no mill ; there was nothing of that
kind which could be put in use ; it was destroyed ; and since that
period, various plantations have grown up in Hayti. Men have gone
to the expense of thirty and forty thousand dollars, to build up those
sugar works ; and it stands to reason, that unless these men were repaid
for their capital they would not continue that sort of work. And there
is another thing to be observed, that sugar is not the staple commodity
of Hayti ; they only make sufficient for their own consumption. Cof
fee is the staple commodity of the island.
" If a man can show that he has the means of subsistence of his own,
is he compelled to labor under the code rurale ?
" Decidedly not.
" Do you believe that corporal punishment is inflicted upon any of
the laborers in Hayti ?
" I believe it is impossible. I have seen the peasantry in the High
lands of Scotland where I was brought up, and I declare that the ne
groes in St. Domingo are comparatively as much superior to them in
comfort as it is possible for one man to be over another."
Evidence of the Vice Admiral, the Hon. Charles Fleming, member of
Parliament.
" Was told that vagrants and deserters worked by compulsion, but
he did not see any himself. Had never heard of any working under
the lash. The lash was prohibited by law. The Haytiens appeared to
him the happiest, best fed, and most comfortable negroes he had ever
seen ; better off even than in the Caraccas : infinitely better than in
Jamaica ; there was no comparison between them. He could not speak
positively of the increase of the Haytien population since 1804, but
believed it had trebled since that time. They now feed themselves, and
they export provisions, which neither the French nor the Spaniards
had ever done before.
" He saw a sugar estate near Cape Haytien, General Boulon's, ex
tremely well cultivated, and in beautiful order. It was wrought by

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 185
blacks, all free. A new plantation was forming on the opposite side of
the road. Their victuals were very superior to those in Jamaica, con
sisting chiefly of meat, cattle being very cheap. The highest contract
beef in Hayti, was 2d. ; in Jamaica, it was 12d. He saw no marks of
destitution any where. The country seemed improving, and trade in
creasing. The estate he visited near the Cape was large ; it was cal
culated to make 300 hogsheads of sugar. It was beautifully laid out,
and as well managed as any estate he had seen in the West Indies,
His official correspondence as Admiral with the Haytien government,
made him attribute much efficiency to it, and it bore strong marks of
civilization. There was a better police in Hayti, than in the new
South American States ; the communication was more rapid ; the roads
much better. One had been cut from Port au Prince to Cape Haytien,
that would do honor to any country. A regular post was established.
The government is one quite worthy of a civilized people. The negroes
of Hayti are certainly richer, and happier, and in a better condition
than he had ever seen elsewhere. They were all working in the fields
when he was there. He rode about very much. He did not think
any acts of oppression were practised on the people of Hayti by the
government." Mr. Jeremie, late first president of the royal court of St. Lu
cia, informs us that in St. Domingo
" Is found a happy, flourishing, and contented peasantry, engaged in
the cultivation of their own small freeholds ; and as these persons
acquire capital, they form larger establishments, and are gradually
rising. This proves that the general wants of the community are sup
plied, and, if well governed, that community must soon acquire strength
and rise to importance." Essays on Colonial Slavery, 1832, p. 63.
The following facts, collected from the new and valuable " Dic
tionary of Commerce and Commercial Navigation," by J. R.
McCulloch, London edition, 1834, abundantly confirm the fore
going testimonies.
In 1786, the exportation of coffee was about 35,000 tons. In conse
quence of the subsequent devastation of the island, the exportation
for some years almost totally ceased ; but it has now risen to about
20,000 tons ! p. 309.
The amount of the following articles, exported in 1832, was esti
mated as follows, viz. :
Coffee,  50,000,000 lbs.
Cotton,  -1,500,000 lbs.
Tobacco,  500,000 lbs.
Cocoa,  500,000 lbs.
Dye wood,  5,000,000 lbs.
Tortoise shell,  12,000 lbs.
Mahogany,  6,000,000 feet
Hides,  80,000— p. 927.

186 joy's works.
The quantity of sugar exported in 1832, is not stated ; but in 1826,
it amounted to 32,864 lbs. ; and it should be recollected, that about
twenty years before, not an ounce of that article was manufactured on
the island, p. 926.
The imports into France, in 1831, from Hayti, exceeded in value
the imports from Sweden — Denmark, the Hanseatic Towns — Hol
land — Portugal — Austria — the French East Indies — or China,
p. 637.
In the same year, the importation of French wines into Hayti
amounted to 108,495 gallons, p. 1250.*
Cotton manufactures, to the amount of 6,828,576 yards, were ex
ported from Great Britain to Hayti in 1831, being about one-tenth the
number of yards exported the same year to the United States, p. 446.
Our readers are now competent to judge for themselves how
far the assertions of Mr. Stone and the Rev. Dr. Clough are
consistent with truth ; and also what is " the practical commen
tary " offered by the history and present state of St. Domingo,
on "the mad schemes of our well-meaning but deluded
philanthropists."

CHAPTER IX.

EMANCIPATION IN THE BRITISH WEST INDIES.
The British Government, in part to conciliate the West In
dia proprietors, and in part through apprehension of the danger
of immediate emancipation, determined to abolish slavery in
such a manner as to fit the slave for freedom. Instead of breaking
his yoke, it was to be reduced in weight ; and six years were to be
occupied in filing off his manacles. On the first of last August,
the slave was told and believed, that slavery was abolished ; but
on the morrow, he was summoned to his usual task, and required
to work as before, without reward. Astonished and disap-
* The quantity of French wine imported the same year into Great Britain
for home consumption, was 254,366 gallons, p. 1255.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 187
pointed, he doubted the legality of the mandate, and hesitated
to obey it. He was then informed, that, although no longer a
slave, he was nevertheless an apprentice, and must toil on for
six years longer, before he could enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Had emancipation been nominally, as well as really, prospective,
the slave would have regarded it as a boon ; but he did not
readily comprehend the distinction between slavery and appren
ticeship. There was, however, a very important distinction, which he
soon discovered, and which did not promote his acquiescence in
protracted wrong. The lash was, by act of Parliament, wrested
from the master's hand ; and while he was authorized to com
mand his apprentices to labor, he was forbidden to punish them
for idleness or insubordination. On this subject a Jamaica paper
remarks :
" It is clear, and there is no use in disguising the fact, that the ap
prentices can no longer be coerced in the way they formerly were ; for
in the first place, no magistrate can legally inflict more than twenty-
nine stripes, and, in the next, it is not possible to furnish magistrates
enough for the purpose. The hope, therefore, of coercing, is absurd,
and must be abandoned."
The conduct of the West India negroes, under these circum
stances, proves how utterly groundless are the apprehensions
entertained of emancipation. Disappointed and irritated, and
at the same time almost wholly released from the control of their
masters, they have exhibited a meekness, patience, and forbear
ance, utterly without a parallel. The great mass of the appren
tices continue to labor, but some have either refused to work, or
accomplish less than their appointed tasks. None of the insur
rections, murders and conflagrations, which were so confidently
predicted by the enemies of abolition, have occurred. Not one
life has yet been taken, not one dwelling fired,* throughout the
British West Indies, by the emancipated slaves.
This forbearance is the more remarkable, when we consider
the numerical superiority of the negroes, in the West Indies,
* Two sheds, called trash houses, were lately burned in Jamaica, probably,
but not certainly, by an apprentice.

188 jay's works.
and particularly in Jamaica, where there are 331,000 slaves,
and only 37,000 whites.
Whatever may be the result of the apprenticeship experi
ment, abolitionists are not responsible for it. It was adopted
contrary to their advice, and is inconsistent with the doctrines
they profess. The emancipation which they believe to be most
consonant with the will of God, most conducive to the safety
and happiness of the whites, is immediate and unconditional.
They rejoice that their doctrines are at this moment subjected
to a severe and practical test, and they await the issue with un
shaken confidence.
The Legislatures of Bermuda and Antigua, have adopted the
very course which the American Anti-Slavery Society recom
mends to the slave States. With the permission of the British
government, these Legislatures dispensed with the apprentice
ship altogether, and on the first of last August, granted imme
diate and unqualified emancipation. That we may judge of the
fanaticism, the madness, the reckless incendiarism of these
Legislatures, we must take into consideration the number of
slaves they " let loose upon the community," and their relative
proportion to the white population.
In Bermuda there are 5,500 whites, 4,650 slaves, and 500
free blacks. In Antigua, 2,000 whites, 30,000 slaves, and 4,500
free blacks.*
The Bermuda Gazette, of the 4th of August, thus speaks of
the great change effected on the 1st.
" The day was as remarkable for quietude, exemption from labor,
and solemnity, as that which marks the Sabbath in a Christian land.
The only bustle perceptible was in preparation for attending public
worship, which his Excellency the Governor most wisely ordered to be
performed : thereby dedicating it wholly to God, the wilier and doer
of this great work. The churches and other places of public worship
on the island were crowded to excess, every possible accommodation
being afforded to the colored people. From every quarter we hear of
their orderly, nay more, exemplary behavior. Four days of univer
sal freedom have now passed, and four days of more perfect regularity
and quiet have these famed peaceful islands never witnessed."
* American Almanac.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 189
Such was the immediate result of turning loose 4,000 slaves.
Let us now attend to the subsequent testimony. The Hon. Mr.
Butterfield, Chief Justice of Bermuda, in his charge to the grand
jury on the 6th of November, referring to the abolition of slaves
in the island, observed :
" This measure, which was necessarily one of fearful experiment,
has not, I am happy to say, disappointed the hopes of the public, whose
feelings in its favor were expressed with a unanimity as unexampled
as, I am proud to say, altogether honorable to the character of the
country. On the contrary, it is a subject of congratulation, and cer
tainly of commendation to the emancipated, that in three months during
which we have been able to mark its working, the general character
and comfort of society have improved, and the evils which some of its
best friends apprehended, were in all cases overrated, and in some
have hitherto had no existence."
But in Bermuda the whites were equal to the blacks, and the
manumitted slaves were perhaps restrained from outrage by the
consciousness of their own weakness. It seems as if Provi
dence had provided facts to refute every argument that can be
urged against abolition. Let us now turn to Antigua, where the
slaves were to the whites as 15 to 1, and the free blacks as 3 to
2, and see how far in this overwhelming preponderance of the
colored over the white population, immediate emancipation con
firmed Dr. Hawkes's theory. Let the Antigua newspaper of
7th of August, answer.
" The great doubt is solved, the alarming prognostications of the ad
vocates of slavery are falsified, the highest hopes of the negroes' friends
fulfilled, and their pledge honorably redeemed. A whole people, com
prising thirty thousand souls, have passed from slavery into freedom,
not only without the slightest irregularity, but with the solemn and
decorous tranquillity of a Sabbath. A week has nearly elapsed, and
although all eyes and ears are open, and reports spread rapidly, we
have not heard of a single act of insolence, insubordination or violence
committed by any one of them, under false and hcentious notions of
freedom." From the same paper, of the 14th of August:
" It is with the highest satisfaction we announce, that we know of
and believe that there is no gang of laborers in the .island, which has
not returned to its accustomed employment."
17

190 jay's works.
So that two weeks after the slaves were " let loose," instead
of begging and stealing, they were all quietly at work.
We quote from the same paper of the 21st of August:
" The third week of freedom will close with this day, and again we
are bound to express our gratitude and praise to the Divine goodness,
for the perfect peace and tranquillity which the island enjoys. Not
the least symptom of insubordination has manifested itself any where ;
and the daily accounts from all quarters testify to the excellent disposi
tion and conduct of the new freemen."
In a letter from Antigua, dated August 30th, and pubhshed
in a Norfolk paper, we find the following :
" The operations of commerce have experienced no interruption ;
public confidence remains unshaken. Two sugar plantations have
recently leased for as much as they were worth with the negroes included,
prior to emancipation."
While the Jamaica papers are filled with complaints of the
conduct of the apprentices, and predictions of the ruin of the
island, one of them (10th September) says:
" In Antigua, all appears to be peaceable and quiet. Its rulers
evinced more wisdom, and proved themselves to be better tacticians,
than those of any other colonies, Bermuda excepted. In getting rid
of the apprenticeship, they got rid of the source, and only source of
heartburning between them and their laborers ; and we maintain, as a
free colony, will soon experience advantages not to be enjoyed by
others, so long at least as the humbug continues."
About eight months have now elapsed since the thirty thou
sand slaves of Antigua were suddenly " let loose," and, as yet,
we have not heard of a single outrage committed by them. It
had been customary in this island, as an additional security
against insurrection, to proclaim martial law at the Christmas
holidays, during which times the slaves had peculiar oppor
tunities for forming conspiracies. The great act of justice ac
complished on the first of August, relieved the planters of all
apprehension of insurrection; and not only was the usual
proclamation withheld at the last Christmas, but the militia was
exempted from duty. In a late speech by the Speaker of the

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 191
Antigua House of Assembly, he adverted to the "universal
tranquillity " that prevailed, and to the " respectful demeanor of
the lower classes ; " and declared that " the agricultural and
commercial prosperity of the colony was absolutely on the
ADVANCE."

CHAPTER X.
GRADUAL AND IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION.
If we have been successful in our endeavors to prove that
the removal of slavery by colonization is both morally and
physically impossible, then it necessarily follows, that the slaves
must be emancipated here, or that slavery must be indefinitely
continued. Should the former alternative be adopted, the important
question occurs, — Ought the emancipation to be gradual or

If this question is to be determined with reference to moral
obligation, it is certainly difficult for tliose who regard slavery
as sinful to justify its continuance even for a limited time. If, "
however, the question is to be decided on the ground of mere
political expediency, there are many and powerful objections to
gradual emancipation ; and what may at first view appear para
doxical, the strength of these objections is proportioned to the
number of slaves to be emancipated.
In New York, slavery was for the most part gradually abol
ished ; that is, the children born after a certain day became free
as they respectively reached the age of twenty-eight years ; and
when the whole number of slaves was reduced to ten thousand,
they were liberated in a single day. In New York, the white
population so greatly exceeded the black, that no jealousy was
entertained of the free negroes, and no inconvenience experi
enced in uniting free and slave labor. But in those States in

192 jay's works/
which nearly all the laborers are slaves, where every free black
is regarded as a nuisance and an incendiary, and where the
planter would, on no consideration, permit him to labor in com
pany with his slaves, much difficulty would necessarily attend
a gradual relinquishment of slave labor.
Suppose, in South Carolina for instance, ten thousand slaves
should be annually manumitted by law. This would certainly
be gradual emancipation, as it would require about forty years
to free the whole number. Now, what would become of these
ten thousand yearly discharged from the plantations ? Would
their late masters be willing to hire them, and turn them back
into their cotton fields ? The supposition is extravagant. The
planter would dread their influence on his remaining slaves, and
these would certainly, and with great reason, be dissatisfied at
seeing their late companions working for wages, while they
themselves were denied any compensation for their toil. Butif
the ten thousand liberated slaves were not employed, how could
they obtain a livelihood, and how could the planters supply their
place on the plantations ? The idea that by gradual emancipa
tion the slaves will become fit for freedom, is visionary in the
extreme. How is it possible that the liberation of a portion of
the slaves, can qualify those who remain in chains to become
useful citizens ? The house of bondage is not the school in
which men are to be trained for liberty.
As then gradual emancipation, however desirable, if no other
can be obtained, is so full of difficulty, and, in the opinion of
slave-holders, so dangerous that they have almost universally
passed laws to prevent it, the only alternative is immediate
emancipation or continued slavery.
It seems scarcely possible that any conscientious man, after
considering the results of immediate emancipation in St. Do
mingo and Guadaloupe, in New York, in Mexico, in South
America, and in the West Indies, should join in the popular
clamor against it, as necessarily leading to massacre and rapine.
No reason can be assigned why the whites would not possess
the same physical power to prevent or suppress outrage after,
as before emancipation ; but abundant reason may be given,

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 193
why the blacks, when restored to their rights, and enjoying the
protection and privileges of civil society, should be less disposed
to destroy their benefactors and deliverers, than they are when
smarting under cruelty and injustice, to destroy those whom
they regard as their tyrants and oppressors.
Who, with the knowledge that no white man has ever been
murdered in consequence of immediate emancipation, dares to
declare in the presence of his Maker, that self-preservation
forbids the abolition of slavery ?
But we are met with the inquiry, How are the owners to be
compensated for the loss of their property? This same objec
tion was made to the suppression of the African slave-trade.
British merchants had invested large capitals in the traffic, and
it was contended that to prohibit the trade was to violate the
rights of property. All governments possess the right to sup
press practices injurious to society, and to abate nuisances.*
If a particular manufactory is found to be deleterious to the
health of a city, it is not only the right, but the duty of the civil
authority, to suppress it. If the national interests require an
embargo, the measure is adopted, although it virtually wrests
from the merchant his property, by depriving him of the use of
his own ships.
The State of New York abolished slavery without compen
sating the slave-holders. The same has been done in Mexico,
and in various instances in South America ; and the compensa
tion given by Parliament to the West India proprietors, probably
arose from the consideration that the legislators who enacted
the abohtion law, were not themselves personally affected by it ;
and in order, therefore, to avoid the reproach of indulging their
benevolence at the expense of others, granted a pecuniary com
pensation to the owners of the emancipated slaves.
To contend that the slaves in the Southern States ought not
to be emancipated by law, except on the payment to their
masters, of their market value, is to contend that slavery ought
* " How little to be respected," exclaimed Lord Mulgrave, late Governor
°i nj*10 % "is tIlat ligid reSard for the rights of property, which says a man
shall do what he likes with his own, when his own is his fellow-man."
17*

194 jay's -works.
to be perpetual. Such a payment is morally impossible.
By whom can it be made ? The Federal Government have
neither the will nor the constitutional power to make it. But
admitting it possessed both, the appropriation of the national
funds to this purpose would not be such a payment, because a
very large proportion of those funds would be drawn from the
slave-holders themselves ; and it would be an insulting mockery
to offer to pay them with their own money. To suppose that
the free States would be willing, from motives of disinterested
benevolence, to make a present to their neighbors of a thou
sand millions of dollars * is obviously absurd : nor is it
less absurd to insist that this sum ought to be paid to the masters
by the Legislatures of the slave States ; since the pockets of the
masters are the only sources whence those Legislatures could
obtain the money.
So far as the whole amount of wealth in the community
is concerned, it would be enhanced, not diminished by emanci
pation. This may seem a strange assertion to follow the esti
mate we have just made of the market value of the slave
population. But what is the price paid for a slave ? Nothing
more than the amount of his wages for life, paid in advance;
paid, it is true, to another, but still paid as an equivalent for
labor to be performed, and to be refunded with interest out of
that labor. Now it is obvious that it is the product of this labor
which can alone add anything to the aggregate wealth; and
that no diminution of that wealth can be caused by paying for
the labor as it is performed, monthly, or yearly, instead of paying
for the whole of it in advance.
This argument, it may be said, applies only to the purchase
and sale of slaves ; but that where a planter is already in pos
session of them, he would certainly lose a part of his profits
by being compelled to pay him wages, and this loss would be
so much deducted by emancipation from the general stock.
The fallacy of this opinion may be perceived by recollecting
that it can in no degree affect the national wealth, whether the
* Estimating the slaves at an average value of #400, the amount would now
nearly equal this sum, and in a few years far exceed it.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 195
horse with which a farmer tills his corn-field was reared by
himself or purchased from his neighbor. It is the corn produced,
and not the money paid for the animal by one man and received
by another, that augments the riches of the country.
If the slaves are worth a thousand millions of dollars, it is
evidence that their labor must be worth much more ; because to
their price is to be added the cost of their maintenance, and the
whole is to be reimbursed with profit out of their labor. Now
colonization would utterly annihilate all this labor ; it calls upon
the South to surrender a commodity worth more than a thousand
millions ; and upon this surrender, which would convert the
whole slave region into a wilderness, it rests all its hopes of the
ultimate abolition of slavery !
Emancipation, on the contrary, instead of removing millions
of laborers, would stimulate their industry, improve their morals,
quicken their intelligence, and convert a dangerous, idle, and
vicious population into wholesome citizens. Were all the slaves
in South Carolina emancipated to-morrow, every branch of
industry would derive new energy, and every species of property
an increased value from the additional security which such a
measure would give to society. All dread of insurrection would
vanish, and one-half of the population, who are now regarded as
implacable foes, would be converted into useful friends.
But it is objected, that the emancipated blacks will form a
bad population. One would think, from this objection, that the
slaves now form a good population, and that they are to be ren
dered ignorant and immoral by freedom. Unquestionably, the
liberated slaves, like all other vicious and degraded people, will,
while such, form a bad population ; but if they, are such while
in bondage, and must ever remain such until liberated, then
emancipation is the only process by which a bad can be con
verted into a good population. As soon as they are free, they
will be accessible to education and religious instruction, and all
those various motives which operate as a wholesome restraint on
the evil passions of our nature. It would be most unjust to
estimate the future character of the emancipated slaves, sup
posing slavery to be immediately abolished, by the present char-

196 jay's works.
acter of the free negroes. These last, in the slave States, are a
hated and persecuted race. They are kept not only in ignorance,
but in idleness. The planters will not employ them, for fear
they will contaminate the slaves ; and the whole legislation of
the Southern States towards this people, is to degrade and
brutify them. But these wicked efforts are the results of
slavery, and would cease with it. Were slavery abolished, then
it would be the obvious interest of the South to improve the
black population, and the causes which necessarily render the
free blacks vicious, would no longer operate. The same remark
applies, although with less force, to the free blacks of the
North. Colonization and slavery have both had their influence
in keeping alive and aggravating the prejudices against color,
and these prejudices have led to that system of persecution and
oppression to which the free blacks here are subjected.
And now what injury or loss would the planter sustain by the
emancipation of his slaves ? As a trader in human flesh, his
vocation would, indeed, be gone, but as the cultivator of the soil,
his profits would be undiminished. The number of laborers would
be as great as before ; and they would still be dependent on labor
for their support. They now cost their owner their food and cloth
ing, and their maintenance in sickness, in youth, and in old age ;
the expense also of the idle and worthless, is as great as that of
the good. Their cost as free laborers would be but little more
than at present, while their characters would be improved, and
the employer could select such laborers as his occasions required.
The laborers, finding their wages, and of course their comforts,
depending on their good conduct, would be prompted to industry
and sobriety ; and having nothing to gain by insurrection, and
feeling no injuries to avenge, all malignant designs against their
employers would be laid aside, and they would soon make such
advances in intelligence and morality, as would contribute no
less to the good order and peace of society, than to their own
happiness. Abolitionists are constantly called on for a plan of emanci
pation. They have little encouragement to respond to the call.
If they propose the simple plan of proclaiming by act of the

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 197
State Legislatures, the immediate and unqualified abolition of
slavery, they are denounced as reckless incendiaries. If they
intimate that abolition does not necessarily inhibit all compul
sory labor, and point to the rural code of St. Domingo and the
apprentice system of the West Indies, they are reproached with
wishing to substitute one kind of slavery for another. But,
in truth, they are under no obligation of duty or policy to pro
pose any specific plan. No Temperance Society has felt itself
bound, because it pronounced the traffic in ardent spirits to be
sinful, to furnish venders with plans for employing their capitals
in other occupations.
The details of emancipation, and the various legal provisions
proper to render it safe and convenient, are not prescribed by
the great principles of justice and religion, but by considerations
of local policy. It is not probable that if all the Southern
Legislatures were sincerely anxious to abolish slavery, any two
of them would do it in precisely the same manner, and under
the same regulations. We have seen one plan pursued in St.
Domingo, another in Bermuda and Antigua, a third in the
other British West Indies, and still different plans in South
America. Of all these plans, that adopted in Mexico, Bermuda and
Antigua, of immediate, total and unqualified emancipation, will,
there is reason to believe, be found in all cases the most safe
and expedient.
This plan removes from the slave all cause fbr discontent-
He is free, and his own master, and he can ask for no more.
Yet he is, in fact, for a time, absolutely dependent on his late
owner. He can look to no other person for food to eat, clothes
to put on, or house to shelter him. His first wish therefore is,
to remain where he is, and he receives as a favor, permission to
labor in the service of him whom the day before he regarded as
his oppressor. But labor is no longer the badge of his servi
tude, and the consummation of his misery ; it is the evidence of
his liberty, for it is voluntary. For the first time in his life, he
is a party to a contract. He negotiates with his late master,
and returns to the scene of his former toil, and the scene of his

198 JAY'S WORKS.
stripes and his tears, with a joyful heart, to labor for himself.
The wages he has agreed to accept, will, in fact, be little more
than the value of his maintenance ; for it is not to be expected,
that in a treaty with his employer his diplomacy will gain for
him any signal advantages ; but still there will be a charm in
the very name of wages which will make the pittance he receives
appear a treasure in his eyes. Thus will the transition from
slave to free labor be effected instantaneously, and with scarcely
any perceptible interruption of the ordinary pursuits of life. In
the course of time, the value of negro labor, like all other ven
dible commodities, will be regulated by the supply and demand,
and justice be done both to the planter and his laborers. The
very consciousness, moreover, that justice is done to both parties,
will remove their mutual suspicions and animosities, and substi
tute in their place feelings of kindness and confidence. No
white man in Antigua, surrounded as he is by blacks, now
dreams of insurrection, or fears the midnight assassin. Can as
much be said of our Southern planters ?
In concluding this chapter, we beg leave to address the fol
lowing questions to the reader, and we beseech him seriously to
inquire what duties are prompted by the answers which his con
science and understanding may compel him to return.
Do you believe it to be agreeable to the will of God, and the
welfare of our country, that slavery should he perpetual ?
Is it either possible or probable that slavery can or will be
removed by colonization ?
If slavery be not abolished by law, is it not probable that it
will, in time, be terminated by violence ?
Do the precepts of Christianity and the lessons of history
recommend gradual, in preference to immediate emancipation ?

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 199
CHAPTER XI.
DANGER OP CONTINUED SLAVERY.
While slave-holders and colonizationists delight to expatiate
on the danger of immediate emancipation, and to represent its
advocates as reckless incendiaries, ready to deluge the country
in blood, they seem scarcely conscious that any danger is to be
apprehended from slavery itself. Yet the whole history of sla
very is a history of the struggles of the oppressed to recover
their liberty. The Romans had their servile wars, in one of
which forty thousand slaves were embodied in arms, Italy rav
aged, and Rome herself menaced.
A European writer remarks :
" The formidable rebellion of the Jamaica slaves, in 1762, is well
known ; and in almost every island in the Archipelago, have repeated
insurrections broken out ; sometimes the result of plans laid with the
utmost secrecy, and very widely extended, always accompanied by the
horrors of African warfare."
The destruction of property in Jamaica, in the insurrection
of 1832, was estimated by the Legislature at £1,154,583. Any
commotion of the emancipated slaves, that should cost the island
one-hundredth part of this sum, would be hailed both there and
here, as demonstrative of the folly and hazard of emancipation.
And have we not in our own country had melancholy, heart
rending proofs of the danger of slavery ?
In 1712 and 1741, negro insurrections occurred in New York,
and we may judge of the alarm they excited, by the shocking
means used to prevent their recurrence. Of the leaders of the
last insurrection, thirteen were burned alive, eighteen hung, and
eighty transported. In the single State of South Carolina, there
have been no less than seven insurrections designed or executed.
In 1711, the House of Assembly complained of certain fugitive
slaves, who " keep out armed, and robbing and plundering
houses and plantations, and putting the inhabitants of this prov
ince in great fear and terror." In 1730, an open rebellion

200 jay's works.
occurred, in which the negroes were actually armed and embodied.
In 1739, there were no less than three rebellions, as appears from
a petition from the Council and Assembly to the king, in which
they complain of an " insurrection of our slaves, in which many of
the inhabitants were murdered in a barbarous and cruel manner ;
and thatjwas no sooner quelled, than another was projected in
Charleston, and a third lately "in the very heart of the settle
ment, but happily discovered time enough to be prevented."
In 1816, there was a conspiracy of the slaves in Camden and its
vicinity, " the professed design of which was to murder ajl the
whites and free themselves.'' The conspiracy in Charleston in
1822, and the sacrifice of human life to which it led, are well
known. But in no instance has the danger of slavery been so
vividly illustrated as in the tragedy of Southampton.
A fanatic slave conceived, from some supposed signs in the
heavens or peculiarity in the weather, that he was called by
God to destroy the whites. He communicated his commission
to five other slaves, who engaged to aid him in executing it.
The conspirators agreed to meet at a certain place on the
night of the 21st of August, 1831. They assembled at the
appointed hour, and the leader, Nat Turner, beheld with surprise
a sixth man, who had not been invited by him to join the enter
prise, but who had learned from another source the cause of the
meeting ; and on inquiring for what purpose he had come, re
ceived the remarkable answer, — " My life is worth no more
than that of others, and my liberty is dear to me." With these
six associates, Turner commenced the work of destruction. By
sunrise, the number of murderers was swelled to fourteen, and
by ten o'clock the same morning, to forty !
From the testimony given on the trial of Turner, and which
has been published, it appears that there was no previous con
cert, except between Turner and his six original associates, and
that no white or free colored man was privy to their design.
The dates we have given of the various insurrections, prove
conclusively that they were in no degree connected with discus
sions respecting abolition ; and at the time of the Southampton
massacre, there was no Anti-Slavery Society in the United
States advocating immediate emancipation.

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 201
Abohtionists have been often charged with a desire to foment
insurrections ; but the charge is wholly gratuitous, and no proof
whatever of such sublimated wickedness has ever been adduced
against them. On the contrary, their characters, professions
and conduct repel the calumny. The whole history of abolition
shows that its only tendency is to insure peace and safety.
We have brought facts to establish the danger of slavery ; let
us now attend to the confessions of slave-holders to the same
point. A South Carolina writer, while urging the necessity of
a stricter police over the slaves, thus describes them :
" Let it never be forgotten, that our negroes are truly the Jacobins
of the country ; that they are the anarchists, and the domestic enemy ;
THE COMMON ENEMY OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY, AND THE BARBA
RIANS WHO WOULD IF THEY COULD BECOME THE DESTROYERS OF
OUR RACE." *
The Southern Religious Telegraph says :
" Hatred to the whites, with the exception in some cases of attach
ment to the person and family of the master, is nearly universal among
the black population. We have then a foe cherished in our very
bosoms — a foe willing TO draw our life-blood, whenever the
opportunity is offered, and, in the mean time, intent on doing us all
the mischief in his power."
Now, be it recollected that these " destroyers of our race,"
these foes, willing " to draw the life-blood " of the whites, are
rapidly advancing to an immense numerical majority. And on
what grounds do the whites rest their hopes of security from
these Jacobins and anarchists, — on equal laws, the diffusion of
education, and the influence of religion ? Let Governor Haynes
of South Carolina, answer the question.
" A state of military preparation must always be with us a
state of perfect domestic security. A profound peace, and consequent
apathy, may expose us to the danger of domestic insurrection." Mes
sage to the Legislature, 1833.
Thus, profound peace, which is a blessing to all other people,
will be a curse to the slave-holders, and they are to hold all that
is dear to them by the tenure of military preparation !
* A refutation of the "calumnies inculcated against the Southern and
Western States. Charleston, 1822.
18

202 jay's works.
Is it, we ask, possible, for any nation to have a worse popu
lation than that described in the preceding extracts, or to be
doomed to a more deplorable fate than that of perpetual military
preparation ?
We have now seen what are the religious and political prin
ciples, and what are the historical facts which lead the American
Anti-Savery Society to recommend immediate emancipation to
their Southern brethren.
But it is demanded, with an air of supercilious triumph, what
have Northern men to do with slavery, and what right have they
to interfere with the domestic institutions of the South ? And
is this question addressed to the followers of Him who com
manded his disciples to " go into all the world, and to preach the
Gospel to every creature ? " As well might it be asked of the
Christians of America, what they have to do with the religion
of Brahma, — what right they have to interfere to rescue the
widow from the burning pile, or the devotee from the wheels of
Juggernaut. Christians are no less bound by the injunction to
" do good unto all men," to endeavor, by lawful means, to break
the fetters of the slave, than to deliver the victim of Pagan
superstition. The obligation is imperative, and they who duly
respect its authority, will not be deterred by violence or denun
ciation from obeying -its monitions. The same moral sense
which has led abolitionists tp oppose slavery, will, we trust, for
ever lead them to repudiate in their practice the detestable doc
trine that the end sanctifies the means. The means they
employ, except in relation to slavery under the authority of
Congress, are wholly confined to arguments addressed to the
conscience and understanding ; and intended only to excite the
voluntary action of the masters. With them, and with them
alone, rests the power of deciding on the course they will pur
sue. But let them ponder well the consequences to themselves
and their posterity, of their momentous decision.
By rejecting abolition, they reject all the rich and varied
blessings in morals, in security, in political power and wealth
which it offers to their acceptance. And what do they retain ? — ¦
the licentiousness, cruelty, and injustice ; the depression of enter-

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 203
prise, the wasting of strength, the fearful forebodings, the hourly
jeopardy, the frowns of public opinion, and the reproaches of
conscience, which are and must be the inseparable attendants on
slavery. Before they refuse to retreat from the volcano on
which they are standing, let them look into the terrific crater
which yawns beneath them.
If slavery is to be perpetual, it will be well to estimate, not
only the number of slaves with which our Southern country is
to be peopled, but also the ratio they are to bear to their masters.
It must be recollected that all those moral checks on population
which arise from religion, the refinements of civilized life, and
the difficulty of sustaining a family, are wanting to the slave.
Hence there is always a tendency to a far more rapid multipli
cation in a slave than a free population. Certain circumstances
may indeed check this tendency, but experience proves that in this
country they exist to a very slight extent, if at all. Our slaves
are increasing in a constantly accelerated ratio. In the ten
years from 1840 to 1850, judging from the result of the last
census, the increase will be 1,049^275, a number greater than
all the slaves just liberated in the West Indies ! The next ten
years, a still greater number will be added, and so on indefinitely.
In the mean time, neW and powerful checks will be operating to
retard the progress of the white population. The evils attend
ant on slavery will offer strong inducements to the young and
indigent to forsake the land of their fathers, and to seek a safer
home, and a wider field for enterprise. Virginia affords a striking
illustration of this remark. The domestic slave-trade annually
relieves that State of more than six thousand slaves, and yet,
notwithstanding this drain, they continue to increase.
In 1830, the colored population in the counties east of the
Blue Ridge, exceeded the white by 81,078, whereas, forty years
before, in the same counties, the whites had a majority of
25,098. The number of slaves must at length reach the point of prof
itable employment, after which, each additional one becomes an
incumbrance. Soon after this point is reached, the traffic in
slaves must cease, and the ow/ners will be unable to dispose of

204 jay's WORKS.
their superfluous hands. The consequence will be the gradual
impoverishment of the proprietors. As the slaves increase in
number, and diminish in value, their masters will gradually
become less interested in their welfare, and more apprehensive
of their physical strength. Fear is a cruel passion, and espe
cially as it silences the remonstrances of conscience by the plea
of self-preservation. As the danger becomes more pressing, the
precautions of the master will become more and more rigorous :
every slave being regarded and treated as an enemy, will, in fact,
become one ; and every increase of cruelty will but hasten the
final catastrophe.
In the mean time, slavery will have ceased in every other
part of the civilized world. In Brazil, it will probably receive
its death-blow in the first popular revolution. In the Danish
Islands, it will expire in two years; and in the French and
Spanish colonies, it cannot long survive.* And when this
loathsome leprosy shall alone cling to the republicans of our
Southern and Western States, in what light will they, must
they, be regarded by the rest of the human race? This is an
ao-e in which public opinion has snatched the sceptre from kings
and senates, and reigns an imperious and absolute despot. She
may, indeed, be influenced, but not resisted. She called for the
abolition of the African slave-trade, and the traffickers in human
flesh, for centuries encouraged and protected by law, became a
proscribed race. She is now calling for the freedom of the
slave, and his shackles are falling from him. Emancipation will
soon become the common cause of Christendom, as the abolition
of the slave-trade was a few years since.
In 1822, the House of Representatives requested the Presi
dent to enter into negotiations with the several maritime powers,
for the effectual suppression of the slave-trade, and its ultimate
denunciation as piracy ; and negotiations were accordingly
opened on this subject with Great Britain, Spain, Portugal,
Russia, France, the Netherlands, Buenos Ayres and Colombia.
* The voluntary manumissions in the French Colonics from 1st of January,
1831, to 1st of June, 1833, were 21,962. Since the late Abolition Act of Great
Britain, an Anti-Slavery Society has been organized in Paris, with the Due
de Broglie at its head. It is said to have " derived its existence in the very
bosom of the Chamber of Deputies."

AMERICAN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. -205
In 1821, Portugal persisting in the traffic, the British House
of Commons called upon the king, to endeavor, by negotiation,
to'prevail on the powers of Europe to exclude from their ports
the produce of the Portuguese Colonies. Portugal yielded, and
the trade has been renounced by every Christian nation in
Europe and America. And may not the same, or similar means,
be adopted by other nations to put an end to American slavery ?
It is by no means improbable, that before many years elapse,*
laws will be passed, and treaties made, for excluding the pro
ducts of slave-labor from Europe.
So long ago as 1806, Mr. Windham, in the House of Com
mons, " did not hesitate to say, that when the proper time arrived,
and the consent of other powers could be obtained for its abolition,
slavery ought not to be suffered to exist among the institutions
of any civilized State."
The emperor of Austria has issued a decree, declaring —
" Every man, by the right of nature, sanctioned by reason, must
be considered a free person. Every slave becomes free from
the moment he touches the Austrian soil, or an Austrian ship."
The Edinburgh Review insists, that " the existence of sla
very in America is an atrocious crime, with which no means can
be kept."
Mr. Buckingham, member of Parliament, lately asserted at a
public meeting : " The greater proportion of the people of Eng
land demand not merely emancipation, but the immediate eman
cipation of the slaves, in whatever quarter of the world they may
be found." Daniel O'Connell, shortly before the abohtion of slavery in the
British Dominions, declared in public, " The West Indies will
be obliged to grant emancipation, and then we will turn to Amer
ica, and to every part of Europe, and require emancipation"
A society has just been formed in England, entitled, "the
British and Foreign Society for the universal abohtion of negro
slavery and the slave-trade.."'
* A statement has recently been laid before the British Parliament of the
amount of such produce of American slave-labor imported into Great Britain
as enters into competition with the productions of the West Indies.
18*'

206 jay's works.
Our pride may revolt at the idea of foreign interference, but
it will be the interference not of force, but of pubhc opinion,
against which our fleets and armies will be of no avail.
We cannot compel other countries to buy our cotton and
sugar, or to admit our citizens from the South, when they visit
Europe, to the usual courtesies of social intercourse. " When
an American comes into society," says Daniel O'Connell, in a
numerous assembly, " he will be asked, ' Are you one of the
thieves, or are you an honest man ? If you are an honest man,
then you have given liberty to your slaves ; if you are among
the thieves, the sooner you take the outside of the house the
better.' "
The very coarseness of this invective in the mouth of the
great agitator, indicates the temper of the British population
on this subject ; a temper which, fostered as it is by the progress
of liberal principles, will, in time, become the temper of all
Europe, and, indeed, of all the world. While the slave-holders
are suffering, without sympathy and without redress, from the
harassing influence of this temper, their slaves will be multiply
ing with a fearful rapidity, and becoming each day more conscious
of their own strength ; and unless their fetters are loosened, they
will inevitably be burst.
Our Southern brethren are the masters of their own destiny ;
may a gracious God lead them to know the things which belong
to their peace, before they be forever hidden from their eyes.

A VIEW OF THE ACTION

FEDEEAL GOYEENMENT,

BEHALF OF SLAVERY.

"We, the People op the United States, do ordain and establish
this Constitution." — Federal Constitution.

INTRODUCTION

TO SECOND EDITION.

The rapid sale of the first edition of this work, and the almost im
mediate call for another, afford gratifying evidence of the awakening
attention of the public to the action of the Federal Government in
behalf of slavery. That action is so iniquitous in itself, and so dangerous
in its consequences to the liberties of the country, that it needs only to
be fully known, to be restrained by the patriotism and moral sense of
the community, within the limits prescribed by the Constitution and
the obvious principles of humanity and justice. It is not easy, however,
to enlighten those who prefer darkness to light ; nor to persuade men
to act m opposition to their supposed pecuniary or political interests.
But there can be no triumph where there is no struggle — that religion
is worthless, which cooperates with human depravity; and that patriot
ism an empty name, which only echoes the shout of the multitude.
If the friends of human liberty have in this country much to cover
them with grief and shame, they have also much to stimulate their
exertions, and much to assure them of ultimate success. Their own
rights ¦ — the virtue, happiness and liberty of their descendants — r the
honor, prosperity and freedom of their country, are all involved in the
issue. Slavery is a perfidious, encroaching enemy, that must either
conquer or be conquered. Let the warfare now waged against it be
succeeded by a peace, and soon Texas, the Valley of the Mississippi,
and in time even the Atlantic States would be added to its dominions.
Every dictate, therefore, of patriotism or religion, of personal interest,
of paternal affection, unites m urging us to use all lawful means to stay
the progress of the destroyer, and to teach our children after us to
continue the contest.
But is not the struggle hopeless, and ought we not to sit down in
utter despair at the prospect of desolation, misery and disgrace with
which our country is threatened ? So we are advised by high authority ;
public opinion, we are told, is against us. Indeed ! and is it not also
against every defeated candidate for office, and every losing political
party ? But who hears our baffled politicians advising submission to
the victors because public opinion is against the vanquished ? Public
opinion is a mighty agent for good or for evil ; but it is as fickle as it

210 INTRODUCTION.
is powerful. It strowed the path of the Redeemer with palm branches,
and afterwards nailed him to the cross.
For ages it guarded and preserved all the oppressions and cruelties
of the feudal system ; it is now gradually, but surely destroying its
every -vestige. But a few years since, public opinion not merely
sanctioned, but actually required the use of intoxicating liquors ; it is
now their potent enemy.
But perhaps the most extraordinary change this mighty agent has
undergone, is in relation to slavery itself; and the friends of emanci
pation will find in the history of this transformation one of their most
powerful inducements to perseverance.
For more than two hundred years before its abolition, had the
African slave-trade been pursued by Christian nations, under the fos
tering protection of their rulers. No difference of religious faith, of
government, or of climate, offered any check to this accursed commerce.
Catholics and Protestants, the subjects of monarchs and the citizens
of republics, natives of the north and'of the south, alike thirsted for the
price of blood, alike participated in robbery and murder. In 1774,
the British cabinet refused its assent to the imposition, by the colonial
legislatures, of duties on the importation of slaves. " We cannot," said
the Secretary, Lord Dartmouth, " allow the colonies to check or dis
courage in any degree a traffic so beneficial to the nation ! "
The feelings of humanity and the powers of conscience were on this
subject almost universally and totally paralyzed. So late as 1783, in
the trial of a civil cause in London, it appeared in evidence, that one
hundred and thirty-two Africans had been thrown into the sea by the
captain of a slaver to defraud the underwriters. Minutes of the evi
dence were submitted to the government ; but the victims were only
negroes, and their murderer was unmolested.
In 1786, the number of unhappy beings annually torn from Africa
was estimated at 100,000. Of these, it was admitted at least 20,000
perished on the voyage ; and of those who survived to enter a state of
hopeless bondage, 20,000 more, exhausted by suffering and despair,
sunk into the grave within two years.
Individuals were occasionally found who protested against the traffic,
but their voices were unheeded. For two centuries not a word in rep
robation of the trade had been uttered within the walls of the British
senate. This long silence was first broken by Mr. David Hartley, who
in 1776 moved in the House of Commons, that the slave-trade was
" contrary to the laws of God and the rights of man." But the moral
sense of Great Britain, and indeed of the world, was then too obtuse to
recognize these simple and now obvious truths ; and the resolution was
promptly rejected. Seven years after, a petition against the trade, the
first ever offered, was presented by the Quaker Society to the House
of Commons. But that body did not even condescend to consider it —
the Premier, Lord North, coolly observing, that the traffic had, in a
commercial view, become necessary to almost every nation in Europe.
On the 7th of July, 1783, shortly after this official declaration, SIX
Quakers* met in London " to consider what steps they should take for
* William Dillwyn, George Harrison, Samuel Hoare, Thomas Knowles,
John Lloyd, and Joseph Woods. Their names are registered in heaven,
let them not be forgotten on earth.

A

INTRODUCTION. 211
THE RELIEF AND LIBERATION OP THE NEGRO SLAVES IN THE WEST
Indies, and for the discouragement op the slave-trade on
THE COAST OF AFRICA."
When we reflect on the peculiar circumstances under which these
men assembled, we cannot but regard their meeting as one of the
sublimest instances of Christian faith unrecorded in the sacred vol
ume — a faith which, according to the promise, was effectual in remov
ing mountains. At the moment of their meeting, the maritime powers
of Europe were actively engaged in the trade, — a trade against which
no petition had ever been presented, except from the very sect to
which they belonged, and which had, within a few days, like certain
petitions in modern times, been ordered to " lie on the table." They
had, moreover, just witnessed the impunity of the wretch who had
deliberately drowned one hundred and thirty-two of his fellow-men, —
an impunity which warned them of the utter insensibility of the pubhc
to the sufferings of the miserable negroes.
And who were these six men who under such circumstances pre
sumed to attempt the abohtion of slavery and the slave-trade — who
aspired to move the moral world — to arrest the commerce of nations —
to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison doors
to them that were bound ? Did they sway the councils, or lead the
armies of empires ? — were they possessed of learning to command the
attention of the wise and great, or of eloquence to mould at their will
the passions of multitudes ? They were humble and obscure individu
als, belonging to a small and despised sect, and precluded by their
religions tenets and social condition from all political influence. But
they discovered from the Book of God, what had escaped many wise
and good men, that the trade in question was opposed alike to the
attributes and the precepts of the Almighty Ruler of nations.
In laboring, therefore, for its suppression, they were assured of his
approbation ; and without regarding their own weakness, or the obsta
cles before them, they proceeded steadily in the path of duty, leaving
the result to HIM with whom all things are possible.
They determined to hold frequent meetings, of which regular min
utes were kept. Their first object was to enlighten and purify the
public mind, and for this purpose they entered into negotiations with
the proprietors of various newspapers, and secured a space in their
columns for such articles respecting the trade as they might choose
to insert. They likewise circulated books and pamphlets on the
subject. The seeds thus scattered germinated slowly, but ultimately
yielded a glorious harvest. Within two years a second petition was
presented, and like the first was treated with neglect. The third year,
the six associates, with the aid of some friends, engaged the celebrated
Clarkson as their agent ; and so successful were his labors in exciting
the sensibilities of the British public, that it was found expedient to
divest the enterprise of its sectarian character, and the committee added
six to their number from other denominations. This new committee
soon became an important body, receiving and appropriating the
pecuniary contributions to the cause, and directing and cheering the
labors of its advocates. Gradually, members of Parliament, dignitaries
of the church, and political leaders subscribed to the funds of the com
mittee, and avowed their hostility to the trade.

212 INTRODUCTION.
Petitions were multiplied, and the government so far condescended
to notice the rising excitement, as to appoint a commission to inquire
into the alleged atrocities of this branch of the British commerce. On
the 9th of May, 1788, only five years after the first meeting of the
committee, the House of Commons voted that they would at the next
session take into consideration the complaints against the African slave-
trade. It is unnecessary for our purpose to pursue the details of this instruc
tive history. It has already taught us the possibility of rousing the
public attention, however lethargic, by appeals to the conscience and
understanding, and the influence which Christian zeal and faith, unaided
by wealth and power, are capable of exerting. The few remaining
facts we shall notice convey the important lesson, that no cause, how
ever pure, no truth, however obvious, can shield their advocates from
obloquy, when prejudice and selfishness find it expedient to assail
them ; and also, that constancy in maintaining and inculcating the great
principles of justice and humanity will finally be crowned with success.
No sooner did a parliamentary inquiry threaten to expose the abom
inations and endanger the continuance of the traffic, than its advocates,
reckless alike of truth and decency, vindicated its policy, and attacked
with vindictive fury those who were laboring to destroy it. Abolition
was denounced in Parliament as " hypocritical, fanatic, and methodis-
tical." It would lead, it was asserted, to " insurrection, massacre and
ruin in the colonies; and in Great Britain, to the reduction of her
revenue, the decay of her naval strength, and the bankruptcy of her
merchants and manufactures." The trade was justified by the press,
and even ministers of relijion stepped forth to vindicate it on scriptural
authority.* In 1791, a bill was brought in for the suppression of the
trade. The opposition to it was malignant and successful. The measure
was pronounced fit only for the bigotry of the twelfth century. Lord
John Russell termed it " visionary and delusive, a feeble attempt to
serve the cause of humanity, as other nations would pursue the trade
if abolished by Great Britain." Mr. Stanley insisted that it was the
intention of Providence, from the beginning, that one set of men should
be slaves to another ; and he complained that the trade had been con
demned from the pulpit !
The friends of abolition were ridiculed by Lord Chancellor Thurlow
from the woolsack ; and the Duke of Clarence, who afterwards, as
WiLLiAlSf the Fourth, gave his assent to the bill abolishing slavery
throughout his dominions, regardless of parliamentary decorum, de
clared, in his place in the House of Lords, that the abolitionists were
hypocrites and fanatics ; and in the application of these epithets
included Mr. Wilberforce by name.
Ten times did Mr. Wilberforce, in the House of Commons, endeavor
to procure the suppression of the traffic, and ten times was fie doomed
to defeat. So late as 1807, Lord Castlereagh, in the British senate,
*As~- illustrative of public opinion at this time, we give the titles of two
pamphlets published in London in 1788, viz. : " Slavery no Oppresion,"
and " Scriptural Researches on the Licitness of the Slave-Trade, and show
ing its conformity with the principles of natural and revealed religion, deline
ated in the writings of the word of God." By the Rev. Ii. Harris.

INTRODUCTION. 213
vindicated the trade on scriptural grounds, and avowed that, in his
opinion, the advantages resulting from it were so great, that were it not
now existing, the trade ought forthwith to be established. But the
triumph of justice and the reward of faith and perseverance were nigh
at hand. On the 25th of March, 1807, twenty-four years after the
formation of the Quaker committee, the slave-trade was abolished by
act of Parliament.
Splendid and glorious as was this triumph, it was incomplete while
shared by Great Britain alone. The whole of Christendom was yet
to be brought to abjure a commerce condemned alike by reason and
revelation. A long course of negotiation ensued, and treaty after
treaty was made fbr the abandonment of the traffic, until, in 1830,
every Christian nation in Europe and America had prohibited it.
The Quaker committee, as we have seen, proposed, in 1783, not
merely the discouragement of the African slave-trade, but also " the
liberation of negro slaves in the West Indies." The struggle for this
last object was continued after the accomplishment of the former for
thirty-one years; when, on the 4th of August, 1838, negro slavery
wholly ceased throughout the British West Indies, and every legal
disability, founded on color, was utterly abolished.
Thus has been accomplished the most astonishing revolution in
opinion and practice the world has ever witnessed, with the exception
of the establishment of Christianity. And let it be remembered, that
this revolution was effected solely by the exhibition of truth, and by
bold and persevering appeals to the conscience and understanding of
mankind. No miracles have wrought conviction, no force has subdued
opposition. Public opinion was gradually enlightened and converted,
ana then roused into action, and with resistless energy it smote to the
earth a stupendous system of wickedness and cruelty.
Surely we may learn from this history a very different lesson from
that which many of our politicians and moralists are fond of inculcating,
that because public opimon is against them, therefore abolitionists should
cease to do well, and learn to do evil — should abandon their opposition
to slavery and acquiesce in popular iniquity. Let us take the six
Quakers for our example, and resolve to persevere, while life shah be
spared, in our assaults upon slavery, not inquiring how many are
against us, knowing assuredly that God is for us. But should the advo
cates of emancipation, in some moment of weakness or of trial, be
tempted to cast a desponding and inquiring glance over the field of
battle, and to recall to his recollection the events of the campaign, he
will see nothing in the array of hostile forces to damp his courage, nor
in the review of the past to lower his confidence of victory.
The great object proposed by the friends of human liberty, so far as
relates to the Federal Government, is the abolition of slavery within
its " exclusive jurisdiction." But we have been given to understand,*
that " the immediate abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia
is utterly impracticable." That the present administration do not choose
to abolish it, is not more true than that the British Parliament of 1 783 did
not choose to abolish the slave-trade ; and it is equally true that the
* Public letter of John Quincy Adams of 25th May, 1839.
19

214 INTRODUCTION.
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia is now far more prob
able and practicable than was that of the slave-trade and West India
slavery at the formation of the Quaker committee. But why is the
immediate abolition of slavery in the District utterly impracticable?
" Because public opinion throughout the Union is against it." This is
a good reason for predicting that the next Congress will not grant
abolition, but not why the friends of abolition should cease their efforts
to change public opinion, in order that a future Congress may grant
what we know the next will refuse.
In many respects the abohtionists of the present day are placed in
circumstances similar to those in which their predecessors found them
selves in 1783. They, like us, had to contend with the hostility of the
Government, with the interests and prejudices of slave-holders in the
Legislature,* with clerical defenders of cruelty and oppression, with
mercantile cupidity, and with heartless politicians. But in many other
respects they were less favored than we are. They were struggling
against the spirit of the age ; we are cooperating with it. They were
aavaijcing untried theories; we can point to the West Indies and
South America for the practical and successful operation of our doc
trines. They were striving to influence a government in a great degree
independent of the people ; we are petitioning a government that is
the mere creature of the popular will. They were few and despised ;
the hatred and persecution we have experienced attest the importance
attributed to us. They were without political influence ; where suffrage
is universal, 300,000 petitioners will not be overlooked by politicians.
They could bring their facts and arguments before the public only by
hiring a space in the columns of a few newspapers ; we have numerous
periodicals, many of them of the largest size, exclusively devoted to
the propagation of our opinions, while many religious and political
journals are aiding us in exhibiting the evils of slavery and the advan
tages of emancipation. They were cheered by no, official sanction of
their efforts ; we are encouraged and stimulated, in many instances, by
the approving voice of the representatives of the people.
We ask Congress to abolish slavery in the District ; is the prayer
presumptuous or unconstitutional ? If so, it becomes not the House
of Representatives to rebuke us ; for, on the 9th of January, 1829, that
body " Resolved that the Committee on the District of Columbia be
instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the
gradual abolition of slavery within the District, in such manner that
the interests of no individual shall be injured thereby." Here we have
the solemn admission of the popular and most numerous branch of the
Legislature, that the question of abolition is one of expediency alone,
and not of constitutional power ; and that slavery may be terminated
by law, without injury to any individual. And what sentiments on
this subject have been uttered by the State Legislatures ? In 1828 the
Legislature of Pennsylvania instructed their members of Congress
" to procure, if practicable, the passage of a law to abohsh slavery in
* Many of the Commoners and Lords were deeply interested in West In
dian plantations ; and a large estate, well stocked with slaves, was held by a
chartered Society, of the established Church.

INTRODUCTION. 215
the District of Columbia." In 1829, Jhe Assembly of New York
voted to direct the representatives from that State " to make every
proper exertion to effect the passage of a law for the abolition of sla
very in the District of Columbia." In 1837, the Senate of MassAt
chusetts " Resolved that Congress, having exclusive legislation in
the District of Columbia, possess the right to abolish slavery and the
slave-trade therein, and that the early exercise of such right is de
manded by the enlightened sentiment of the civilized world, by the
principles of the Revolution, and by humanity." The other House, the
same session, " Resolved that Congress, having exclusive legislation in
the District of Columbia, possess the right to abolish slavery in said
District, and that its exercise should only be restrained by a regard to
the public good." The next session both branches of the Legislature
resolved " That the rights of justice, the claims of humanity, and the
common good alike demand the entire suppression of the slave-trade
now carried on in the District of Columbia." In 1838, the House of
Representatives of the Legislature of Maine " Resolved that the cort-
tinuance of slavery within the sacred enclosure and chosen seat of the
National Government is inconsistent with a due regard to the enlight
ened judgment of mankind, and with all just pretensions on our part
to the character of a free people, and is adapted to bring into contempt
republican liberty, and render its influence powerless throughout the
world." The same year the Legislature of Vermont, without a dis
senting voice, instructed the Representatives in Congress " to use their
utmost efforts to procure the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade
in the District of Columbia." Yet there are those who would fain
paralyze ah our efforts by the assurance that pubhc opinion is against
us !
But we are urged to desist, not only because our object is impracti
cable, but also because it is unlawful. " When the people," we are
told, " are bound by laws emanating from a legislative assembly wherein
they have no representatives, their will must be ascertained by mani
festations from themselves." But why ought Congress to ascertain the
will of the people of the District ? Because " the Declaration of In
dependence derives ah just powers of the Government from the con
sent of the governed." But are laws binding only on such as approve
of them ? No. " When the people are represented in the legislative
assembly, the consent of the whole must be inferred from the voice of
the representative majority." Now it so happens that the whole peo
ple of the United States, by the voice of the representative majority,
assented to the provision of the Constitution, that a district, ten miles
square, should be placed under the absolute and exclusive jurisdiction
of Congress. To this arrangement the people inhabiting the present
District gave their assent through their representatives. Afterwards,
when they themselves were set off, by the Legislatures of Virginia and
Maryland, to be the subjects of this exclusive jurisdiction, they, through
their representatives in the Legislatures, consented to be thus placed
under the authority of Congress. And shall we now be gravely told,
after these people have thus consented to be governed, in all cases
whatsoever, by the National Legislature, and after the people of the
United States have, for this purpose, vested unlimited and exclusive

216 introduction.
jurisdiction in Congress, that it is contrary to the principles of the
Declaration of Independence that this jurisdiction should secure to
each inhabitant of the District the " inalienable rights of life, hberty,
and the pursuit of happiness ? " Again, if the Declaration derives
the powers of the government from the consent of the governed, from
what representative majority, we would ask, are we to infer the consent
of six thousand of the people of the District to be reduced to chattels
— to be robbed of the rights of humanity — to be converted, with
their wives and children, into articles of merchandise ?
Surely the friends of emancipation will not, after their past expe
rience, look upon pubhc opinion as an invincible enemy — still less will
they believe that the Declaration of Independence is the death-warrant
of human rights in the national domain. The principles for which
they are contending are the principles of the Declaration ; the means
they are using are those given them by the Constitution — freedom of
speech and of the press — petition and the elective franchise ; and, by
the blessing of God on these principles and means, they will yet con
vert pubhc opinion into an ally — will yet purge the capital of the
Republic of its loathsome plague, and restore the Federal Government
to its legitimate functions, of establishing justice and securing the bless
ings of hberty.
Bedford, September, 1839.

A VIEW OF THE ACTION

GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

Our Fathers, in forming the Federal Constitution, entered
into a guilty compromise on the subject of slavery, and heavily
is their sin now visited upon their children. By that instru
ment, the continuance of the African slave-trade was guaranteed
for twenty years ; — a larger proportional representation in Con
gress, and a larger vote in the election of the Executive, was
accorded to the slave-holding, than to the other States : — the
power of the nation was pledged to keep the slave in subjec
tion ; and should he ever escape from his fetters, his master was
authorized to pursue and to seize him, in any and every of the
sovereign States composing our wide-spread confederacy.
We are not about to exhibit the corrupting influence of this
compact on the religious sympathies and sentiments of our
countrymen, in regard to slavery ; nor is it our present purpose
to trace the retributive justice of Heaven in that recklessness
of human hfe, and in that contempt of human and divine obli
gations which are hurrying on the slave States to anarchy and
barbarism ; or in the eagerness so generally exhibited by our
northern pohticians and merchants, to barter the constitutional
19*

218 jat's works.
rights of themselves and their fellow-citizens, for the votes and
the trade of the South.*
We propose simply to take a view of the action of .the Fed
eral Government in behalf of slavery, — a subject that has yet
been but partially investigated ; and we flatter ourselves that in
the course of our inquiries we shall develop facts which, with
some at least of our readers, will possess the merit of novelty.
These facts, for the most part, derive their origin from
THE FEDERAL RATIO OF REPRESENTATION.
The Constitution provides that the members of the Lower
House of Congress shall be proportioned to the free inhabitants
of the States they represent, except that in each State three-fifths
of the slave population shall be for this purpose considered as free
inhabitants. In other words, every five slaves are to be counted
as three white persons. For example, if by law every 60,000
free inhabitants may elect a representative, a district containing
45,000 whites and 25,000 slaves, becomes by the federal ratio
entitled to a member. This stipulation in the Constitution has from
the beginning given the slave-holders an undue weight in the na
tional councils. A few instances will illustrate its practical effect.
The whole number of the House of Representatives is at pre
sent 242 — sent from 26 States. Of these, the following are
slave States, viz. : — Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
* Before this language is condemned as harsh and exaggerated, we beg the
reader to recall some of the prominent events of the last few years, con
nected with this subject, — the Lynch clubs and cruel inflictions of the
South — the sacking of the Charleston post-office — the wholesale and unpun
ished murders at vicksburg — and the frequent burnings alive of negroes,
and in particular of Mcintosh, taken by the citizens of St. Louis from the
prison, chained to a tree, and consumed by a slow fire — and the advice of
Judge Lawless to the Grand Jury, not to notice the diabolical atrocity,
because it was, in fact, the act of the community ! As to the North, we
point in our justification to the innumerable mobs excited by politicians
against the friends of emancipation — the various attempts made by the State
authorities to propitiate the South by a surrender of the freedom of speech
and of the press — to the zeal of the merchants in our seaports in getting up
anti-abolition meetings— to the conflagration of Pennsylvania Hall and to
the martyrdom of Lovejoy. In truth, our whole land is strowed with monu
ments of the wickedness and tyranny of slavery — monuments which declare
in no doubtful language, that our common national sin is not unheeded by
Him to whom vengeance belongeth.

ACTION OP THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 219
Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas. These States
with a free population of 3,823,389, have 100 members ; while
the free States, with a free population nearly double, viz., 7,003,-
451, have only 142 members. One representative is at present
allowed to 47,700 inhabitants. Now were the slaves omitted in
the enumeration, the slave States would have only 75 members.
Hence it follows, that at the present moment, the slave-holding
interest has a representation of TWENTY-FIVE members in
addition to the fair and equal representation of the free inhabi
tants. There is certainly no good reason why the owners of
human chattels should, by the fundamental law of a Republic,
have greater privileges awarded to them than to the holders of
any other kind of property whatever. But such is the compact ;
we seek not to change or violate it, but only to explain its oper
ation. Each State has as many votes for President as it has mem
bers of Congress. The rule of representation in the Lower
House has already been explained ; in the Senate it is different
and each State, whatever be its population, has two senators,
and no more. The free population of the slave States, as al
ready stated, is half that of the others ; but their number being
equal, their representation in the Senate is also equal.
If free population were the principle of representation in the
Federal Government, as it is with scarcely an exception in all
the States, the slave States would have,
In the Senate,  ^ • • • 13 members.
In the House,  75
Electoral votes for president,  88
They have, In the Senate,  26 members.
In the House,  100
Electoral votes for President,  126
Here we find the secret of the power of the South, and of the
obsequiousness of the North. Ohio, with a population of 947,-
000, has 19 members ; while Virginia, with a free population of
200,000 less, has two members more. Take another example.
Pennsylvania has 30 electoral votes; the States of South Caro-

220 jay's works.
lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky,
with an aggregate free population of 189,791 less than Pennsyl
vania, have 53 electoral votes !
It cannot be supposed that this vast and most unequal represen
tation and consequent political power will be unemployed by its
possessors. On the contrary, the slave-holders in Congress have
uniformly succeeded in effecting their objects, when united among
themselves. In 1836, this slave-power in Congress was adroitly
turned to pecuniary profit. The Surplus Revenue remaining in
the Treasury on the 1st of January, 1837, was to be distributed,
and the rule of distribution became a question. The income, it
is true, had been derived chiefly from the industry and enterprise
of the North ; but the South insisted, and with her usual success,
that instead of dividing the money according to population, it
should be apportioned among the States according to their
electoral votes. By this rule, the slave States, notwithstanding
their inferiority in population, would share alike with the free,
sp far as regarded the number of their senators ; and with regard
to their representatives, they would secure an apportionment of
money on account of three-fifths of their two millions of slaves.
The sum allotted by this gross and monstrous rule to the
States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louis
iana, and Kentucky, was $6,754,588 ; while Pennsylvania, with
a free population larger than that of all these six States together,
was to receive only $3,823,353 ; so that, in fact, the slave-hold
ers of these States received, man for man,' just about twice as
many dollars from the national treasury as the hard-working
citizens of Pennsylvania !
Notwithstanding this slave representation, the free States
have a majority of members ; and hence it becomes important
to investigate
THE SOURCES OF THE SLAVE-HOLDING INFLUENCE IN
CONGRESS.
These may be regarded as threefold : First, their anxiety to
protect and perpetuate slavery renders the Southern members
united in whatever measures they consider important for this
purpose, while the representatives from the North, having no

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 221
common bond of union, are divided in opinion and effort. Sec
ondly, a slave State, having more votes to bestow on a presiden
tial candidate, and more members in Congress to support or
oppose the administration than a free State of equal white pop
ulation, is of course of greater consequence in the estimation of
pohticians; and hence arises an influence reaching to every
measure, and weighing upon every question. Thirdly, the
peculiar temperament of the Southern gentlemen, together with
their observation of the servility of the Northern politicians,
has induced them to resort, and with great success, to intimida
tion as a means of influence.
The practice adopted by the slave-holders of threatening on
all occasions to dissolve the Union, unless they are permitted to
govern it, has been too long and firmly established to need
illustration. We will at present merely give a few recent
instances of outrageous menaces ; and to justify what we have
said of the servility of Northern pohticians, it is sufficient to
observe, that these menaces were unrebuked.
On the 18th of April, 1836, a petition against the continuance
of slavery in the District of Columbia was presented to the
House of Representatives, when Mr. Speight, of North Car
olina, declared in his place, that " he had great respect for the
chair as an officer of the House, and a great respect for him
personally ; and nothing but that respect prevented him from
rushing to the table and tearing that petition to pieces." Of
course it was to be understood that the order of the House and
the rights of Northern petitioners were respected, not from any
constitutional obligations, but solely because the speaker, himself
a slave-holder, was acceptable to Southern gentlemen.
Mr. Hammond, of South Carolina, the same session, in a
speech, used the following language : " I warn the abolitionists,
ignorant, infatuated barbarians as they are, that if chance shall
throw any of them into our hands, he may expect a felon's
death." Mr. Lumpkin remarked in the Senate, (January, 1838,) "If
abolitionists went to Georgia, they would be caught; " and Mr.
Preston declared in the same debate — " Let an abolitionist

222 jay's works.
come within the borders of South Carolina, if we can catch him,
we will try him, and notwithstanding all the interference of all
the governments on earth, including the Federal Government,
we will HANG him." *
It seems probable from these declarations that abohtionists, in
their Southern travels, will meet with " barbarians " quite as
" ignorant and infatuated " as themselves : and also that the
gibbet is to be the fate of any member of Congress, who shall by
his votes or speeches dare to identify himself with the abolition
ists, and afterwards enter the slave-region.
Such are the sources of the slave-holding influence in Con
gress. The following pages will exhibit many of the results of
this influence, and the first to which the reader's attention is
called, is
THE OBSEQUIOUSNESS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES.
As slave-holders are ready to hang abolitionists when they
can " catch " them, it is not to be supposed that they will elect
any of the proscribed sect President of the United States. Of
course, it becomes important for such gentlemen as aspire to that
honor, that their ideas on the subject of human rights should be
adapted to the meridian of the slave-region.
Previous to the last presidential canvass, Mr. Van Buren,
being a candidate, thought it prudent to write a letter for publi
cation, containing the following passage :
" I prefer that not only you, but all the people of the United States,
shall now understand, that if the desire of that portion of them which is
favorable to my election to the chief magistracy should be gratified, I
must go into the presidential chair the inflexible and uncompromising
opponent of any attempt on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in
the District of Columbia, against the wishes of the slave-holding States."
Wr. White was a rival candidate, and deemed it expedient to
give his pledge also, which he did in these terms :
" I do not believe Congress has the power to abolish slavery in the
District of Columbia ; and if that body did possess the power, I think
* Yet this Carolina Senator, who is thus ready to sanction wholesale mur
der for opinion's sake, in defiance " of all the governments on earth," and
the government in heaven, too, has been nominated for the office of Vice
President of the United States, by the Whig party, in the State of Ohio, a
party professing great attachment to-the cause of constitutional liberty !

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 223
the exercise of it would be the very worst policy. Holding these opinions,
I would act on them in any situation in which I could be placed, and
for both reasons would, if called on to act, withhold my assent to any bill
having in view such an object."
General Harrison, a third candidate, also, as we have
understood, wrote his letter, but not having it before us we cannot
quote it. We presume, however, it was thought sufficient, since
an address in his behalf from his political friends in Virginia,
assured the public that " he is sound to the core on the subject of
slavery." Mr. Webster, the fourth and last candidate, had many years
before fully committed himself as to the power of Congress over
slavery in the District. He gave no pledge, and received no
vote from any slave State.
Another presidential election is approaching, and Mr. Clay
is announced as the opposing candidate to the present incumbent.
This gentleman's position with regard to human rights, has been
deemed at the South equivocal and unsatisfactory. It is true he
is a slave-holder, and although for more than twenty years an
officer, and now the President of the Colonization Society, he
has refrained from availing himself of the opportunities he has
possessed of manumitting his slaves, and permitting them to enjoy
in Africa the liberty which he insists it would be dangerous to
allow them in America. Still his language and professions, in
relation to the "delicate subject," have been indiscreet. In
1827, he maintained in a public speech the right and policy of
the Federal Government to aid the Colonization Society, and
insisted that the annual increase of the colored population, bond
and free, namely 52,000, might be transported to Africa.
" If," said the orator, " I could be instrumental in eradicating this
deepest stain (slavery) upon the character of our country, and removing
all cause for reproach on account of it by foreign nations — if I could
only be instrumental in ridding of this foul blot, that revered State
(Virginia) that gave me birth — or that not less beloved State (Ken
tucky) which kindly adopted me as her son, I would not exchange the
proud satisfaction which I should enjoy for all the honor of all the tri
umphs ever decreed to the most successful conqueror.*
? Speech before the American Colonization Society. 10th Rep., p. 12.

224 jay's works.
In the same speech he remarked, in reference to such as ob
jected to the agitation of the slavery question, —
" If they would repress all tendencies towards liberty and ultimate
emancipation, they must do more than put down the benevolent efforts
of this Society. They must go back to the era of our hberty and inde
pendence, and muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous
return. They must revive the slave-trade, with all its train of atroci
ties. They must suppress the workings of British philanthropy, seeking
to meliorate the condition of the unfortunate West India slaves. They
must arrest the oareer of South American deliverance from thraldom.
They must blow out the moral lights around us, and extinguish the
greatest torch of all which America presents to a benighted world,
pointing the way to their rights, their liberties and their happiness.
They must penetrate the human soul, and eradicate the hght of reason
and the love of hberty. Then, and not till then, when universal dark
ness and despair prevail, can you perpetuate slavery, and repress
all sympathies and all humane and benevolent efforts among freemen, in
behalf of the unhappy portions of our race who are doomed to bondage."
It is not surprising that such sentiments should excite distrust
of Mr. Clay at the South ; a distrust by no means likely to be
dissipated by the following extract from " The Life of the Hon.
Henry Clay, by George G. Prentiss," published some years
since, — an extract which has been zealously circulated of late
by Southern papers, devoted to the support of Northern men with
Southern principles.
" The commencement of Mr. Clay's political career may be dated
as far back as the year 1797, — • a period at which he had scarcely be
gun the practice of law. The people of Kentucky were then about to
elect a convention to frame a new constitution for the State. And one
feature of the plan which had been submitted to them was a provision
tor the. final emancipation of the slave population. The strongest pre
judices of a majority of the people, in every part of the State, were
arraigned against this measure, and MR. CLAY was aware of the
fact; his SENTIMENTS and his FEELINGS were on the side of
EMANCIPATION ; and without taking a moment's heed to his pop
ularity, he entered into the defence of his FAVORITE POLICY,
with all the deep and unquenchable ardor of his nature. His vigorous
pen was busy in the public journals, and his eloquent voice was raised
in almost every assemblage, in favor of the election of men to the con
vention who would contend for the ERADICATION OF SLA
VERY. A conviction of the expediency and necessity of EMAN
CIPATION has been spreading farther and farther among our coun
trymen, and taking deeper and deeper root in their minds, and it
requires not the spirit of prophecy to foretell the END. This rapid

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 225
and continued triumph of the PRINCIPLES, of which it was the
object of MR. CLAY'S first political labors to estabhsh, may well be
a source of pride to him and honest exultation to his friends."
Mr. Clay's course in Congress had, moreover, not been satis
factory to the slave-party. He had not advocated the annexation
of Texas — he had not denied the constitutional power of Congress
to abolish slavery in the District — he had expressed himself in
favor of receiving abolition petitions — and, above all, he had
voted against Mr. Calhoun's bill establishing a censorship of the
press ; a bill which received the sanction of Mr. Van Buren
and his partisans, the two New York senators, Messrs. Wright
and Tallmadge.
The administration party at the South were making great use
of all these circumstances against Mr. Clay, and it became
obvious that unless he could conciliate the slave-holders, he had
little prospect of success.
The Mobile " Commercial Register " thus announced the de
mand of the South :
. " We must do by Mr. Clay as the South have done by Mr. Van
Buren — leave him not an inch of neutral ground to stand upon be
tween the South and the fanatics. We must push him as far as Mr.
Van Buren was pushed. The southern safety demands it. He must
measure the whole length, and walk altogether off the middle neutral
ground which he occupies, or the South will reject and spurn
him." In this state of things, a petition from some of the inhabitants
of the District against abolition was put into the hands of Mr.
Clay, and he determined to make such a use of it as might save
him from being rejected and spurned by the South. Accordingly,
a speech in support of the petitions was prepared, submitted to
the consideration of his friends, and finally delivered in the Sen
ate of the United States on the- 7th of February, 1839. In this
memorable document he vindicates the Senate from all inten
tional violation of the right of petition in their mode of disposing
of the abolition petitions — he declares himself " irresistibly
impelled to do whatever is in his power to dissuade the public
from continuing to agitate a subject fraught with the most dire-
20

226 jay's works.
fill consequences." He distinguishes the abolitionists from those
who are content to keep their conscientious objections against
slavery to themselves, and from those who think the constitu
tional right of petition has been invaded by Congress ; and then
draws a false and distorted picture of those whom he pleases to
term " the real ultra abolitionists." With these men, he tells
us, " the deficiency of the power of the General Government is
nothing — the acknowledged and incontestable powers of the
States are nothing — civil war, and dissolution of the Union,
and the overthrow of a government, in which are concentrated
the fondest hopes of the civilized world, are nothing." That it
may not be supposed he now rejoices in " the working of British
philanthropy," he declares, " if the British Parliament treated
the West India slaves as freemen, it also treated West India
freemen as SLAVES." Daniel O'Connell, on account of his
indignant rebukes of American slavery, is ^denounced by the
Kentucky senator, as " the plunderer of his own country, and
the libeller of a -foreign and kindred people." He then turns to
the District of Columbia, and in this focus of the American
slave-trade, and slave-ships, and slave-prisons, and slave-coffles,
and slave-auctions, he asserts that slavery " exists here in the
mildest and most mitigated form," and he argues that Congress
cannot rightfully abolish it. On the American slave-trade,
he is very explicit and logical : " I deny that the General Gov
ernment has any authority whatever from the Constitution to
abolish what is called the slave-trade, or, in other words, to pro
hibit the removal of slaves from one slave State to another slave
State. The grant in the Constitution " (of power to Congress
to regulate commerce between the States) " is of a power of
regulation, and not prohibition." Mr. Clay's perception of
the distinction between regulation and prohibition, was not so
clear before he became a candidate for the Presidency. In an
address he made to the Kentucky Colonization Society in 1829,
after calling the African slave-trade " the most abominable traf
fic that ever disgraced the annals of the human race," he alluded
to the act of Congress prohibiting it, and remarked, " on the 2d
of March, 1807, the act was passed, for which it was my happy

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 227
lot to vote." " The grant in the Constitution," under which Mr.
Clay voted for the act prohibiting the trade, was that of power
to Congress " to regulate foreign commerce."
As if to apologize for having in his youthful days advocated
emancipation in Kentucky, he refers in his speech to the incon
siderable number of slaves then in the State : " but," he adds,
"if I had been then, or were NOW, a citizen of any of the
planting States — the Southern or Southwestern States — I
should have opposed, and would continue to oppose, any scheme
whatever of emancipation, GRADUAL or IMMEDIATE."
In 1797, Mr. Clay was anxious that the Kentucky Cpnvention
should take measures "for the eradication of slavery." In 1838,
a law was passed submitting to the people the expediency of
calling another convention. Mr. Clay avows that, " emancipa
tion had its influence " in procuring the passage of this law ; but
in regard to the proposed convention, by which his early wishes
might have been consummated, he tells us, "I felt myself con
strained to take immediate, bold, and decided ground against it ! "
Yet this is the man who, a few years since, would not exchange
the satisfaction of being instrumental in eradicating slavery from
his country, " for all the honor of all the triumphs ever decreed
to the most successful conqueror ! " Verily, slavery has achieved
a triumph that attests its withering power over exalted genius
and high and generous aspirations, — a triumph for which hu-i
manity must weep, and patriotism blush.
We are now prepared to investigate the direct action of the
Federal Government in behalf of slavery ; and commencing
with appointments to office, we will proceed to trace this action,
first, in laws and measures of a local and private nature, and
then in attempts to promote the general interests and perpetuity
of the institution. APPOINTMENTS TO OFFICE.
As the citizens of the free States are nearly double in number
to those of the slave States, it might naturally be supposed that
the former would furnish the larger share of the great officers
of the Union. To such as have indulged this supposition, the

228 jay's works.
following extract from a speech lately delivered in the Senate of
the United States, by Mr. Davis of Massachusetts, will no doubt
afford very startling information.
" This interest (slavery) has ruled the destinies of the republic.
For FORTY out of forty-eight years, it has given us a President
from its own territory and of its own selection. During all this time,
it has not only had a President, sustaining its own pecuhar views of
public policy, but through him, has held and used in its own way, the
whole organization of all the departments, and all the vast and con
trolling patronage incident to that office, to aid it in carrying on its
views and policy, as well as to protect and secure to it every advantage.
" Let us explore a little further and see how the Houses of Congress
have been organized. For THIRTY years out of thirty-six, that
interest has placed its own speaker in the chair of the other House,
thus securing the organization of committees, and the great influence
of that station. And, sir, while all other interests have, during part of
the time, had the chair (vice presidency) in which you preside assigned
to them as an equivalent for these great concessions, yet in each
year, when a President pro tern, is elected, who upon the contingencies
mentioned in the Constitution will be the President of the United States,
that interestTias INVARIABLY given us that office. Look, I beseech
you, through all the places of honor, of profit, and privilege; and
there you will find the representatives of this interest in numbers that
indicate its influence. Does not, then, this interest rule, guide, and
adapt public policy to its own views, and fit it to suit the action and
products of its own labor ? "
Let us see how far the present amount of slave interest in the
Federal Government justifies the general statement made by
Mr. Davis. The presidential chair, it is true, is filled by a
northern man ; but he is one who pledged himself to this inter
est before he was elected ; who had manifested his devotion to
this interest, by giving his vote for a censorship of the press,
for the avowed purpose of restraining the circulation of anti-
slavery papers ; and who was elected to his present station by
southern votes ! Be it recollected, moreover, that the southern
journals have insisted that a northern man with southern princi
ples, could more effectually subserve this interest as President,
than a slave-holder.
In the office of Vice President, we have a slave-holder from
Kentucky, presiding over the deliberations of the Senate.
A slave-holder is seated in the chair of the House of Repre
sentatives, appointing committees- on the District of Columbia,

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 229
enforcing gag resolutions against such as would repeal or modify
the laws of Congress violating the rights of man, and deciding
all questions of order in discussions bearing upon the great
INTEREST. A desire is now manifested by the South to bring into the Su
preme Court of the United States certain questions touching the
rights and duties of the free States, relative to slaves who may
come or be brought within their limits. Since the year 1830
there have been five appointments to the bench of this court,
and all from slave States. The majority of the court, including
the Chief Justice, are citizens of those States. But when
these questions come before the court, it may be highly impor
tant for the slave-holders to have an Attorney General to
argue them, in whom they can confide. Accordingly the office
is filled by Mr. Grundy, who lately evinced his qualifications
for the station, by expressing in his place as Senator from Ten
nessee, his approbation of Lynch law, as applied to abohtion
ists. At tb*e head of the department of State, whence issue
instructions for conventions and treaties, protecting the African
slave-trade from British cruisers, and the American slave-trade
from the interference of British colonial authorities, and also for
conventions for the return of fugitive slaves, is placed a gentle
man from Georgia.
At the court of Great Britain we are represented by a slave
holder from Virginia, who, under the direction of the gentleman
from Georgia, is bargaining about the value of shipwrecked
negroes, and threatening the British government with the ven
geance of the Republic, if it shall hereafter dare to liberate
slaves who may be forced into its colonies.
At the head of the Navy Department we behold a citizen
of the North, enjoying the reward of his labor, in concocting
one of the most virulent volumes in vindication of slavery, and
vituperation of its opponents, that has ever issued from the
press. A slave-holder from South Carolina, distinguished for his
negotiation in Mexico for the surrender of fugitive slaves, pre
sides over the War Department.
20*

230 jay's works.
Kentucky furnishes a Postmaster-General whose devo
tion to the " interest " had led him to authorize every Post
master to act as censor of the press, and to take from the mails
every paper adverse to slavery. Thus have the slave-holders
seized upon the Federal Government, and converted, as we shall
presently see, what was intended as the palladium of hberty,
into the shield of despotism.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE TERRITORIAL LAWS OF
FLORIDA.
By the Constitution, Congress has " power to dispose of and
make all needful regulations respecting the territory belonging
to the United States." Under this provision the territorial legis
latures are permitted to enact laws which are in force till abro
gated by Congress, and that body legislates directly for the
territories whenever it thinks proper. Hence it is morally
responsible for the territorial legislation.
On the 11th of February, 1834, Messrs. J. & M. Garnett and
Maria Garnett, all of Virginia, presented a petition to C6ngress,
setting forth that they were the owners of certain slaves whom
they hired to persons in Florida ; and that by a law of the terri
tory a tax of ten dollars was imposed on every slave owned by a
non-resident ; and they prayed Congress to relieve them from
the payment of this tax. It was obvious that this tax tended to
discourage slave-holders from sending their slaves into Florida
and there hiring them at high rates to the new settlers, who had
not capital enough immediately to stock their plantations. Con
gress, without hesitation, abolished the tax. The law thus an
nulled was not in itself revolting to justice or humanity. But
there was then, and still is, a law of Florida of a very different
character. On the 4th of February, 1832, it was enacted that whenever
a judgment for debt was recovered in the territory against a free
negro or mulatto, and the judgment was not satisfied in five
days, the debtor should be sold at auction to pay the judgment.
Imprisonment for debt is now deemed a relic of barbarism, but

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 231
here we have an instance of insolvent debtors being sold for
the benefit of their creditors, virtually by the authority, and
directly with the sanction of the Congress of the United States !
The practical operation of this law is to convert free negroes
into slaves. A recent sale under it will illustrate its character.
Within a few months a free negro was sold at Appalachicola for
ten years, to satisfy a debt which, including legal costs, amounted
to seventy dollars ; so that his services were valued at seven
dollars a year ! The common wages paid in that part of the
country for slave-labor, may be learned from the following
notice, taken from the Brunswick (Ga.) Advertiser, 25th of
January, 1838 :
" Wanted to hire. — The undersigned wish to hire one thousand
negroes, to work on the Brunswick canal, of whom one-third may be
women. Sixteen dollars per month will be paid for steady, prime
men, and thirteen dollars for able women.
F. & A. Pratt,
P. M. Nightengale."
It is obvious that a sale under this law, for a term of years, is
equivalent to a sale for life. The debtor may be sold from hand
to hand, and at the expiration of his term may find himself
under the lash of a driver in Louisiana or Missouri, without the
possibility of proving his title to freedom. Yet, a proposition
in Congress to repeal this most inhuman and profligate law
would be laid upon the table, and not a representative of the
people be permitted to say a word on the subject.

action of congress in behalf of the slave-holders
of louisiana.
On the 31st of May, 1830, the House of Representatives
adopted a resolution, directing the Secretary of the Treasury to
ascertain and report the number of hands (slaves) required per
acre in the sugar cultivation. The Secretary accordingly issued
a circular, proposing a number of interrogatories respecting the
cultivation of sugar, and among others, the following : " The
number of hands (slaves) required to cultivate a" given quantity

232 jay's works.
of land planted with cane, and to perform all the labor necessary
in the manufacture of sugar in the different places where it is
made." This circular was widely distributed, and the answers returned
to it were pubhshed at public expense ; and thus were the sugar
growers instructed, by means of the Federal Government, with
what number of slaves to stock their plantations ; what expense
they must incur in feeding and clothing them, and what number
of new slaves they must annually procure to keep up the
" force." From the information thus furnished, it appeared that
the destruction of slaves in this culture is so great, that there is
a yearly excess of deaths over births of two and a half per
cent.* This waste of life is supplied from the breeding farms'
of Maryland and Virginia. Turning from this private and local
action of the Federal Government, we will now take a view of
its enlarged and comprehensive efforts for the general protection
and perpetuity of the slave system. The advocates of that
system have always looked with distrust and* alarm upon the
free colored people, and have deemed it good policy to prevent
their acquisition of power and influence : hence the
efforts of the federal government to oppress and
degrade the free people of color.
The Constitution of the United States acknowledges no right
or disqualification founded on complexion ; but those who have
administered it, have made the tincture of the skin of far greater
importance than the qualities of either the head or the heart.
So early as 1790, Congress passed an act prescribing the mode
in which " any alien, being a white person," might be natural
ized and admitted to the rights of an American citizen.
Two years after, an act was passed for organizing the militia,
which was to consist of "each and every free, able-bodied
white male citizen," &c. No other government on earth pro
hibits any portion of its citizens from participating in the national
defence; .and this strange and degrading prohibition, utterly
* See Report of Secretary of the Treasury, January 19, 1831.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 233
repugnant to the principles both of the Declaration of Indepen
dence and of the Constitution, marks the solicitude of the Federal
Government to pursue the policy most agreeable to the slave
holders. But not content with this insult to colored citizens,
another, and perhaps a still more wanton and malignant one,
was offered by the Government in the act of 1810, organizing
the Post Office Department. The 4th Section enacts that " no
other than a free white person shall be employed in carrying
the mail of the United States, either as post-rider or driver of a
carriage carrying the mail," under a penalty of fifty dollars.
Any vagabond from Europe, any fugitive from our own pris
ons, may take charge of the United States mail ; but a native
born American citizen, of unimpeachable morals, and with prop
erty acquired by honest industry, may not, if his skin be dark,
guide the horses which draw the carriage in which a bag of
newspapers is deposited.*
Such are the insults heaped by the Federal Government on
the colored citizens throughout the States ; let us see what con
duct it pursues towards them on its own territory, over which it
possesses " exclusive jurisdiction."
In 1820, Congress passed a law authorizing the white citi
zens of the city of Washington to elect white city officers ;
thus making a white skin an indispensable qualification for both
suffrage and office. The officers thus elected were specially
empowered by the national legislature " to prescribe the terms and
conditions on which free negroes and mulattoes may reside in tie
city." In pursuance of this grant of power, the white officers
passed an ordinance (May 31, 1827) requiring all the free col
ored persons then in Washington and wishing to remain, to be
registered ; and enacting, that if any free man with a colored
* The following letter of instruction from the Postmaster General to one
of his deputies, written in 1828, is a curious commentary on this law.
" Sir, — The mail may not, in any case whatever, be in the custody of a
colored person. If a colored person is employed to lift the mail from the
stage into the Post Office, it does not pass into his custody, but the labor is
performed in the presence and under the immediate direction of the white
person who has it in custody : but if a colored person takes it from a tavern
and carries it himself to the Post Office, it comes into his custody during the
time of carrying it ; which is contrary to law. I am, &c,
John McLean.

234 jay's works.
skin should presume to play at cards, or even to be present while
another free colored person was playing, he should be fined not
exceeding five dollars ; that if he should have a dance in his
house, without permission from the white Mayor, he should be
fined not exceeding ten dollars ; that should he take the liberty
to go out of his own house after ten o'clock at night, without a
pass from a Justice of the Peace, or " some respectable citi
zen," (!) he might be compelled to pass the rest of the night " in
a lock-up house," and the next morning be fined ten dollars ;
and should~any dark complexioned free man be guilty of drunk
enness or profane language, he should be fined not exceeding
three dollars. Thus we see with what zeal the Washington
Corporation endeavors to prevent the colored citizens from
affecting the manners and fashions of their white brethren. But
there are still more serious matters. A colored citizen from any of
the States, taking up his residence in the Capital of the Repub
lic, is required within a certain time, not only to be registered,
but also to find two freehold sureties in the penalty of five hun
dred dollars, for his good behavior ; and if he does not, he is to
be imprisoned till he consents to leave the seat of the Federal
Government ; and if he does not prove that he is a freeman, he
shall be sold as a slave to pay his jail fees !
In 1830, a bill to establish the territorial government of Iowa
was before Congress. A slave-holder from Alabama moved to
exclude' colored persons from the right of suffrage ; and the
obedient Senate consented.*
Such are the abominable and iniquitous means used by and
with the sanction of Congress for the degradation and oppres
sion of colored citizens. We are next to take a view of
SLAVERY UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
It is well known that Congress is the local legislature of the
District of Columbia, and of all the territories belonging to the
Union, and with powers far exceeding those possessed by any
* In 1787, when our fathers established the government of the North
western Territory, they prohibited slavery, and disfranchised no man on ac
count of his complexion.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 235
State Legislature, being unfettered with constitutional restric
tions. The authority vested in Congress over the District and
territories, is virtually despotic, being " an exclusive jurisdiction
in all cases whatsoever." Yet we have long had slave-holding
territories. The vast domain acquired by the purchase of Lou
isiana, has, under the authority of Congress, been stocked with
slaves, excepting so much as is north of 36|° north latitude,
which is, by Act of Congress, specially protected from the pol-
, . lution. This very law is one of the most decided acts of the
Federal Government in behalf of slavery ; for by means of it,
the immense territory south of this line was deliberately surren
dered to all the cruelties and abominations of the system; it
was moreover an express acknowledgment by the Government
of its power to prohibit slavery throughout the whole territory,
and that it had made a compromise, a bargain between human
ity and cruelty, religion and wickedness ; and had erected, on
an arbitrary line, a partition wall between slavery and liberty.
But it is in the District of Columbia, and under the shadow of
the proud Capitol, that the action of the Federal Government
in behalf of slavery is exhibited in its most odious and disgust
ing forms. We shall have occasion presently to exhibit the seat
of the National Government as the great slave mart of the
North American continent, " furnished with all appliances and
means to boot." The old slave-laws of Virginia and Maryland,
marked by the barbarity of other days, form by Act of Congress
the slave-code of the District. Of this code, a single sample
will suffice. A slave convicted of setting fire to a building,
shall have his head cut off, and his body divided into quarters,
and the parts set up in the most public places ! But let it not
be supposed that Congress has not itself legislated directly on
the subject of slavery. An Act of 15th May, 1820, gives the
Corporation of Washington power to "punish corporeally any
slave for a breach of any of their ordinances." Happy would
it have been for the honor of our country, if the sympathies of
its rulers in behalf of slavery had been exhibited only on the
national domain ; but they pervade every portion of the confed
eracy, as is but too apparent in

236 jay's works.
the interference of the federal government for
the recovery of fugitive slaves.
The Federal Constitution contains the following clause : " No
person held to service or labor in one State under the laws
thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law
or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor,
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such,
service or labor may be due."
At the time this constitution was adopted, the cultivation and
manufacture of cotton had not so far progressed, as to paralyze,
by their profits, the conscience of the nation, or to divest it of
the sense of shame ; and hence this clause, although relating to
slaves, forbears to name them. It was inserted to satisfy the
South ; and its obvious meaning is, that slaves escaping into
States in which slavery is abolished by law, shall not therefore
be deemed free by the State authorities, but shall be delivered
by those authorities to his master. This clause imposes an obli
gation on the States, but confers no power on Congress ; and the
Constitution moreover declares, that " the powers not delegated
to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people." Hence it follows, that as the power of recovering these
fugitives is not delegated to Congress, it is reserved to the sev
eral States, who are bound to make such laws as may be deemed
proper, to authorize the master to recover his slave. Neverthe
less, the Federal Government in its zeal for slavery, has not
scrupled to assume power never delegated to it; and has exer
cised that power in contemptuous violation of every principle,
which in free countries directs the administration of justice. H
a Virginian enters New York, and claims as his property a horse
which he finds in the possession of one of our citizens, an im
partial jury is selected to pass on his claim, — witnesses are
orally and publicly examined, — the claimant is debarred from
all private intercourse with the jury ; and when the trial is over,
the jury retire to dehberate on their verdict, under the charge of

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 237
an officer who is sworn to keep them apart, and not to suffer any
person to speak with them ; nor can the horse be at last recov
ered but with the unanimous consent of the jury. But let the
Virginian claim, not the horse, but the CITIZEN HIMSELF,
as his beast of burden, and the Federal Government makes all
things easy for him. By the Act of 1793, the slave-holder may
himself, without oath, or process of any kind, seize his prey
where he can find him, and at his leisure, (for no time is speci
fied,) drag him before any Justice of the Peace in the place,
whem he may prefer.* This justice is a State officer, and of
the lowest judicial grade, and under no legal obligation to exe
cute an act of Congress, and entitled to no fees for his services.
He is therefore peculiarly accessible to improper influences.
Before this magistrate, who is not authorized to compel the
attendance of witnesses in such a case, the slave-holder brings
his victim, and if he can satisfy this judge of his own choice,
" by oral testimony or affidavit," and for aught that appears in
the law, by his own oath, that his claim is well founded, the
wretched prisoner is surrendered to him as a slave for life, torn
from his wife and children, bereft of all the rights of humanity,
and converted into a chattel, — an article of merchandise, — a
beast of burden ! !
The Federal Constitution declares : — "In suits at common
law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars,
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ; " but the Act of
1793, in suits in which "the value in controversy" exceeds all
estimation, dispenses with trial by jury, and indeed with almost
every safeguard of justice and personal liberty.
This law, iniquitous as it is, does not require State officers to
anticipate the pursuit of the slave-holder, and to seize and im
prison their fellow-men, on mere suspicion that they may be
claimed as slaves. What the Federal Government dares not do
in the States, it accomplishes on its own exclusive territory, and
in a manner which, for atrocious wickedness and tyranny, leaves
* In New York the Legislature has interfered, and forbidden a Justic'e of
the Peace to act, and has therefore virtually declared the Act of Congres's to
be unconstitutional, — and that the power of prescribing the mode in wrtich
fugitives shall be restored, belongs exclusively to the States.
21

238 jay's WORKS.
far in the shade the vilest acts of European despotism. This is
indeed strong language ; but alas ! language is too feeble ade
quately to represent the turpitude of the laws and practices
sanctioned by the Federal Government in the District under its
" exclusive jurisdiction."
By the Act of 1793, a justice can take no step for the resto
ration of a fugitive slave, till the fact of his being one is proved
before him on oath. But in the Metropolis of the Nation, — in
the city called by the name of the Father of his Country, a
Justice of the Peace may commit to the United States Pris
on, and into the costody of the United States Marshal, any
man he may choose to suspect of being a fugitive slave. Notice
is then given in the newspapers of the commitment, and the
unknown owner is warned to take away his property, or it will
be sold according to law, to pay JAIL FEES.
After the doors of the dungeon have closed upon the victim,
no magistrate, no court, no jury take cognizance of his claims
of freedom. The jailer is the only tribunal to which he can
appeal, and how disinterested a tribunal will presently be seen.
If a free man, no master can of course lawfully claim him, and
not being claimed, he is sold at auction to raise money to pay
an officer of the Federal Government for the trouble and ex
pense of keeping him a few weeks in prison. What civilized
government of the old world practises more execrable wicked

ness

? *

The whole depth of this villany is not yet sounded. The
disclosures we are now about making should make every ear to
tingle, and every heart to quake. No doubt it will occur to
many that if a free man, all the prisoner has to do, to obtain his
liberation, is to prove his freedom. Prove his freedom while
* Not as an apology for this expression, but as a reason why the writer
feels more sensibly than perhaps many others on this subject, he thinks
proper to mention that a free colored man belonging to his neighborhood in
West Chester County, N. Y., on going to Washington some years since, was
there legally kidnapped, and advertised by the Marshal to be sold to pay his
jail fees. A Washington paper containing the advertisement providentially
fell into the hands of a citizen of the County who knew the man. A public
meeting was called, and the Governor of the State, De Witt Clinton, at then-
request, demanded from the President his immediate release as a citizen of
New York.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 239
locked up in his cell ! Where is his counsel ? — where his pro
cess for commanding the attendance of witnesses ? where the
court sitting in open day to investigate his right to freedom ?
where the jury to pass upon his case ? The marshal, or his
deputy the jailer, is the only human being, except his fellow-
victims, to whom he can tell his tale. The marshal is the judge,
and the sole judge of his prisoner's title to freedom. He is the
arbiter of happiness and misery, of liberty and bondage : he
opens the door of the dungeon, and at his sovereign will bids his
captive go forth to enjoy the rights and fulfil the duties of a
rational, accountable, and immortal being, or conducts him to
the human shambles erected in the city of Washington, and
there sells him under the hammer as a slavr for life. Com
pared with this tremendous jurisdiction, the powers vested in
the highest judicial officer in our country dwindle into insignifi
cance. And should such a judge be disinterested ? The very
question is shocking to our every idea of justice. Disinterested !
Screened from the public eye — accountable only to that Being
who seeth in secret — declaring his judgment in the recesses of
the prison, he should of all men be most exempt from human
passion and infirmity. Yet to this judge the law offers a high
and tempting bribe to sell men he knows to be free, and thus to
become a manufacturer of slaves. Will this statement be cred
ited ? It cannot, and ought not to be, without full and unequiv
ocal proof, and to that proof we now appeal ; premising for the
better understanding of our proof, that the marshal is required
to maintain the suspected fugitives while in his custody, and is
entitled to fees for receiving them, &c, and if unreclaimed, has
no means of procuring payment of his expenses and fees but
from the proceeds of the sale of his prisoners ; and further, that
the 'whole of those proceeds are permitted by law to remain in
his pocket, unless after the sale the master should be discovered,
and should claim the balance.
On the 11th of January, 1827, the committee on the District
of Columbia, to whom the subject had been referred by the
House of Representatives, reported that " in this District, as in
all the slave-holding States in the Union, the legal presumption

240 jay's works.
is, that persons of color going at large without any evidences of
their freedom, are absconding slaves, and prima facie liable to
all the legal provisions applicable to that class of persons."
They state that in the part of the District ceded by Virginia, a
free negro may be arrested and put in jail for three months on
suspicion of being a fugitive ; he is then to be hired out to pay
his jail fees ; and if he does not prove his freedom within twelve
months, is to be sold as a slave. This statement is followed by
the remark, " the committee do not consider any alteration of
the law in the County of Alexandria in relation to this subject,
necessary ! " In the County of Washington, ceded by Mary
land, they inform us, " If a free man of color should be appre
hended as a runaway, he is subjected to the payment of dX\fees
and rewards given by law for apprehending runaways ; and
upon failure to make such payment, is liable to be sold as a
slave." That is, a man acknowledged to be free, and unaccused
of any offence, is to be sold as a slave to pay the " fees and
rewards given by law for apprehending runaways." If Turkish
despotism is disgraced by any enactment of equal atrocity, we
are ignorant of the fact. Even the committee thought this law
rather hard, and therefore they "recommended such an alteration
of it as would make such charges payable by the corporation of
Washington."* But the Federal Government, unwavering in its
devotion to slavery, made no alteration, and the code of Wash
ington is to this day polluted by unquestionably the most iniqui
tous statute in Christendom. Laws are sometimes more profli
gate than those who are called to administer them, and the
committee assure us that the marshal has in all cases refrained
from selling his prisoners for fees and charges, when their right
to freedom has been established ; and in consequence of not
availing himself of the privilege allowed him by this law, he
had incurred, in the last eight years, a personal loss of $500 !
In other words, the marshal's sense of justice, decency, and
humanity, exceeded that of the rulers of our Republic.
On the 29th of January, 1829, the committee on the District
of Columbia made a report in obedience to the instructions of
* See Beports of Committee, 2 Sess., 19 Cong., Vol. I, No, 43,

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 241
the House of Representatives, " to inquire into the slave-trade
as it exists in and is carried on through the District." The re
port proposes no interference on the part of Congress, but is
virtually an apology for this vile traffic, as is apparent from the
following heartless sentiments and false assertions.
" The trade alluded to is presumed to refer more particularly to that
which is carried on with the view of transporting slaves to the South,
which is one way of gradually diminishing the evd complained of here ;
while the situation of these persons is considerably mitigated by being
transplanted to a more genial and bountiful clime. Although violence
may sometimes be done to their feelings in the separation of families,
it is by the laws of society which operate upon them as property, and
cannot be avoided as long as they exist ; yet it should be some consola
tion to those whose feelings are interested in their behalf, to know that
their condition is more frequently bettered, and their minds happier by
the exchange." *
To this report is appended a letter (January 13, 1829,) from
the marshal to the committee, containing most important and
heart-rending statements.
It appears from this letter, that from the 1st of January, 1826,
to 1st of January, 1828, there were committed to the Wash
ington prison, as runaways, 101.
Proved to be free, and discharged,  15
Unclaimed, and sold for maintenance, and charges, and fees,  5
Proved to be slaves, and delivered to their masters,  81
101
In 1828, committed as runaways, 78.
Proved to be free,  11
Unclaimed, or sold for jail fees, etc.  1
Delivered to their masters,  6678
Here then is proof, official documentary proof, that in three
years, 179 human beings were, by the authority of the Federal
Government, arrested in' one county of the District, and com
mitted to prison on no allegation of crime, but merely to aid
the slave-holders in tramphhg upon those great principles of
human rights, for the protection of which the National Govern
ment was professedly founded. It is also in proof, that of these
* Reports of Committees, 2 Sess., 20 Cong., No. 60.
21*

242 jay's works.
179 prisoners, 26 were, by the confession of the marshal, free
men ; men whom (as appears from the report we have quoted,)
he had a legal right to consign to hopeless and awful bondage,
merely because they were too poor to pay the expenses of their
unjust imprisonment ; and who were indebted for their hberty,
not to the laws and constitution of their country, but to the be
neficence of their jailer — a beneficence too, exercised at his own
pecuniary loss. Proof also is here given, that six persons un
claimed as slaves, were, by the judgment of this same jailer,
without counsel, witnesses, or trial, sentenced to be sold as slaves
for the purpose of raising money, the whole of which, as we
shall presently see, was paid over to the judge who pronounced
the sentence. The marshal gives in his letter the particulars of
the sale of five unclaimed negroes, as follows :
Si— Amount of jail fees, etc. $84 82
Offered for sale according to law, and no person being
willing to give $84.82, he was purchased by Tench Ringgold,
the marshal, for that sum, and afterwards sold by him to Ro
bert Bown for $20, by which the marshal lost  64 82
Hannah Green sold for  $61 00
Maintenance, &c.  48 71
Balance remaining in marshal's hands,  $12 29
Lewis Davis sold for  $250 00
Amount of fees, &c.  50 07
Balance remaining in marshal's hands,  $199 93
James Green sold for  $80 00
Fees and maintenance,  49 66
Balance remaining in marshal's hands,  $30 34
Arthur Neal sold for amount of his jail fees and maintenance,
to the marshal, being  $46 06
Sold afterwards by private sale to J. G. Hutton for  40 00
Lost by marshal,  $6 06
The letter concludes thus :
" The marshal has always considered it to be his duty, whenever a
negro was committed as a runaway by a Justice of the Peace, who in
all cases under the law commits them, which negro had not in his pos-

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 243
session proof of his freedom, but alleged himself to be a freeman, to
write to any part of the United States to persons who the negro affirm
ed could prove his freedom, urging them to send on their certificates
of such negro being free ; and in many instances, these letters of the
marshal or his jailer have been the means of bringing proof that the
negro was free.
" The law of Maryland in force in this District, directs that the bal
ance of sales of negroes i(sold as runaways) shall remain in the mar
shal's hands until the runaway was identified as the property of some
master ; and in conformity thereto, the marshal has uniformly handed
over such balance whenever the master proved his property. In a late
case, Mr. Sprigg, of Louisiana, lost a valuable slave, who escaped from
him, and made his way to this District, and was committed to my cus
tody, advertised and sold, according to law, leaving a balance of five
hundred dollars, after paying ^maintenance, &c, in my hand. The
negro was carried to Louisiana by the person who purchased him of
me, discovered by his former master, Mr. Sprigg, who sent on here
and claimed his money. Having ascertained that this negro was the
property of Mr. Sprigg, I paid the $500 on demand to his agent here,
Mr. Josiah Johnson, Senator of Congress from that State.
Tench Ringgold, Marshal Dis. Col."
Such are the secrets of the prison-house established by the
Federal Government. It may be well to contemplate them in
detail. It appears from the cases of Si and Neal, that the Mar
shal of the United States, after deciding on the liberty or bond
age of his prisoners, is allowed to take his fees in human flesh,
and the condemned becomes the property of the very judge
who sentenced him to servitude, and who carries him into the
market there to make out of him as much money as he can.
True it is, Mr. Ringgold's speculations appear not to have been
very productive, but other jailer-judges may have less honesty,
or more skill in negro flesh. The marshal, it seems, sold his
fees in the shape of Si, for only $20. No reason is assigned
for this nominal price. Very probably it was a case [similar to
the one described by Mr. Miner, in his speech on the floor of
the House of Representatives, in 1829. " In August, 1821,"
said Mr. M., " a black man was taken up, and imprisoned as a
runaway. He was kept confined until October, 1822, four hun
dred and five days. In this time, vermin, disease, and misery
had deprived him of the use of his limbs. He was' rendered a
cripple for life, and finanly discharged, as no one would buy him.'
The Hannah and James Green sold for fees, were most likely

244 jay's work9.
man and Wife, and may remind us that the law we are consider
ing is utterly reckless of the most sacred relations. The pro
ceeds of three of the five sold in 1826-7, after deducting fees,
&c, is $242.56; and this sum, according to law, the marshal
retains till called for; but if the negroes were free, then,
there being no claimant, the money can never be called for, and
becomes the perquisite of office ; and the income of the judge
of course fluctuates according to the number he condemns to
slavery. Thus does the law literally press upon the marshal
the wages of unrighteousness — thus does it bribe him to the
commission of wickedness. In one instance, the receipts of a
single condemnation were $500, of which the marshal was de
prived only by a most extraordinary accident.
And now let us review the conduct of the Federal Govern
ment towards the free colored citizen of any State, who presumes
to visit the city of Washington. At the will of a Justice of the
Peace he is thrown into prison. His jailer, if he possesses the
humanity and disinterestedness of Mr. Ringgold, may, if he
pleases, write letters to distant parts of the confederacy, although
he knows that a favorable answer may keep some hundred dol
lars from finding their way into his pocket. Ii no such answer
arrives, without any evidence that the letter of inquiry was ever
received, the poor wretch is condemned as a slave, and the price
of his bones and muscles is paid to the judge who condemned
him. And by whom is this accursed law kept in force ? By north
ern Representatives and Senators in Congress. On the 8th of
February, 1836, the House of Representatives resolved, that
" Congress ought not to interfere in any way with slavery in the
District of Columbia," and no less than eighty-two northern
men had the hardihood to record their names in favor of the
resolution. To place, if possible, in a still stronger light, the
conduct of these men, it may be mentioned that the law we have
been considering belonged to the code of Maryland at the time
the District was ceded, and was continued in force by Act of
Congress. In the meantime, the Legislature of Maryland, com
posed of slave-holders, . yielding to the spirit of the age, has

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 245
erased this foul stain from her statute book, while our northern
Democrats, with liberty and equality forever on their lips, in
hope of getting a few southern votes for their party, discover
that Congress ought not to interfere in any way with slavery in
the District, although it is by the authority of Congress that
freemen are there converted into slaves.
We will now place side by side two advertisements, one pub
lished by authority of Congress, in which northern men have
the majority ; the other by authority of the slave State of Mary
land, — the first relating to a woman and infant claiming to be
free, the other to a man confessing himself a slave.
" Notice.' — Was committed to the jail of Washington County,.
District of Columbia, as a runaway, a negro woman, by the name of
Polly Leiper, and her infant child William. * * * * Says she
was set free by John Campbell, of Richmond, Va., in 1818 or 1819.
The owner of the above-described woman and child, if any, are request
ed to come and prove them, and take them away, or they will be sold
FOR THEIR JAIL FEES AND OTHER EXPENSES, AS THE LAW-
DIRECTS. Tench Ringgold,
May 19, 1827'. Marshal."
" Ran away. — Was committed to the jail of Washington County,
Maryland, on the 24th of December last, a mulatto man who calls him
self John McDaniel, about 25 years of age. * * Says he belongs to
William Hill, living at Falmouth, Va., and was sold to John Daily,
firing somewhere in the South. The owner of the said slave is re
quested to come and take him away, or he will be released, according to
law. Christian Newcomb, Jun.,
December 10, 1827- * Sheriff."
The endeavors of the Federal Government to secure the
restoration of fugitive slaves to their masters, are not confined
either to the District of Columbia, or to the States of this con
federacy. Even American diplomacy must be made subservient
to the interests of the slave-holders, and republican ambassadors
must bear to foreign courts the wailings of our government for
the escape of human property.
On the 10th of May, 1828, the House of Representatives
requested the President
" To open a negotiation with the British Government, in the view to
obtain an arrangement whereby fugitive slaves who have taken refuge
* Both advertisements are taken from the Washington Intelligencer.

246 jay's works.
in the Canadian provinces of that government, may be surrendered
by the functionaries thereof to their masters, upon making satisfactory
proof of their ownership of said slaves."
Here was a plain, palpable interference in behalf of slavery
by a government which we are often assured by the slave
holders, " has nothing to do with slavery ; " and so tame and
subservient were the Northern members, that this disgraceful
resolution was adopted without even a division of the House !
At the next session, the impatience of the slave-holders to know
if Great Britain would restore their slaves who had taken' refuge
in Canada, could brook no longer delay, and the House called
on the President to inform them of the result of the negotiation.
The President immediately submitted a mass of documents to
the House, from which it appeared that the zeal of the Execu
tive, in behalf of " the pecuhar institution," had anticipated the
wishes of the Legislature. Two years before the interference of
the House, viz., on the 19th of June, 1826, Mr. Clay, Secretary
of State, had instructed Mr. Gallatin, American Minister in
London, to propose a stipulation for " a mutual surrender of all
persons held to service or labor under the laws of either party
who escape into the territories of the other." Mr. Clay dwelt
on the number of fugitives in Canada, and desired Mr. Gallatin
to press on the British Government the consideration that such
a stipulation would secure to the West India planters the recovery
of such of their slaves as might take refuge in the American Re
public !
Surely the Federal Government was never intended by its
founders to act the part of kidnapper for West India slave
holders. On the 24th of February, 1827, Mr. Clay again urged Mr.
Gallatin to procure this stipulation, and informed > him that a
treaty had just been concluded with Mexico, by ivhich that power
had engaged to restore our runaway slaves.*
On the 5th of July, 1827, Mr. Gallatin communicated to his
government the answer of the British Minister, that " it was
* Such a treaty was negotiated, but the Mexican Congress refused to ratify
the base compact.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 247
utterly impossible for them to agree to a stipulation for the sur
render of fugitive slaves."
Determined not to take NO for an answer, Mr. Clay desired
Mr. Barbour, our then Minister in England, to renew the nego
tiation, inasmuch as the escape of slaves into Canada is "a
growing evil;" but alas, Mr. Barbour replied, that on broaching
the subject to the British minister, he had informed him " the
law -of Parliament gave freedom to every slave who effected his
landing on British ground."* To have attempted to march an
army into Canada, for the purpose of seizing these fugitives,
would have cost rather more than they were worth. There was,
however, a territory on our Southern frontier, belonging to a
power less able than Great Britain to punish aggressions on her
sovereignty, and hence it is that we are called to consider
THE INVASION OF FLORIDA, AND DESTRUCTION OF FUGITIVE
SLAVES BY THE FORCES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
On the 15th of March, 1816, Mr. Crawford, Secretary of War,
addressed a letter to General Jackson, informing him that there
was a fort in Florida, occupied by between two hundred and fifty
and three hundred blacks, and that they and the hostile Creek
Indians were guilty of secret practices to inveigle negroes from
the frontiers of Georgia, and directing him to call the attention
of the Commandant at Pensacola to the subject. The Secretary
added, that should the Commandant decline interfering, and
should it be determined that the destruction of the negro fort
does not require the sanction of Congress, means will be promptly
taken for its reduction.
General Jackson, however, had before .the receipt of this
despatch, " assumed the responsibility " of sending his orders
respecting this very fort to Gen. Gaines.
"If the fort harbors the negroes of our citizens, or of friendly In
dians living within our territory, or holds out inducements to the slaves
of our citizens to desert from their owners' service, it must be destroyed.
* State papers, 2 Sess., 20th Congress, Yol. I.

248 jay's works.
Notify the governor of Pensacola of your advance into his territory, and
for the express purpose of destroying these lawless banditti." The letter
concludes with directions to restore the stolen negroes to their rightful
owners. Letter of 8th of April, 1816.
Owing to some cause not explained, Gen. Gaines did not
fulfil his instructions ; and a gun boat was sent up the Appala-
chicola river by order of Commodore Patterson, and on the
27th of July attacked the fort by firing red-hot shot at it. A
shot entered the magazine, which exploded. The result is thus
stated in the official report :
" Three hundred negroes, men, women and children, and about
twenty Indians, were in the fort ; of these, two hundred and seventy
were killed, and the greater part of the rest mortally wounded."
Commodore Patterson in his letter to the Secretary of the
Navy, observes : •
" The service rendered by the destruction of this fort, and the band
of negroes who held it and the country in its vicinity, is of great and
manifest importance to the United States, and particularly those States
bordering on the Creek nation, as it had become a general rendezvous
for runaway slaves and disaffected Indians — an asylum where they
found arms and ammunition to protect themselves against their owners
and the government. This hold being destroyed, they have no longer
a place to fly to, and will not be so liable to abscond. The force of the
negroes was daily increasing, and they had commenced several planta
tions on the banks of the Appalachicola."*
We are not aware that this gallant achievement called forth at
the time any testimony of approbation from the government. It
was probably regarded as an unnecessary destruction of prop
erty. Gen. Jackson's orders were to restore the negroes "to
their rightful owners," not to kill them. But times have
changed; abolition doctrines are spreading, and hereafter our
officers, and soldiers, and sailors, may feel some reluctance at
being sent on kidnapping expeditions. Hence, after the lapse of
twenty-three years, the government has deemed it good policy
to evince their estimation of such services, by rewarding the
* State papers, 2 Sess., 15th Congress, No. 65.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 249
heroes of Appalachicola. The following is taken from the
Washington Globe :
"Notice. — The sum of five thousand four hundred and
sixty-five dollars having been appropriated by an Act of Con
gress, passed at the last session, to be distributed as prize money among
the officers and crews, their, or either of their heirs or legal represen
tatives, of the gun boats, numbered 149 and 154, who in the month of
July, 1816, blew up and destroyed a fort occupied by fugitive negroes
and Indians, on the river Appalachicola, all persons having claims
upon the sum so appropriated, are notified to present and prove the
same without delay at the office of the Fourth Auditor of the Treasury
Department, in the City of Washington.
"Fourth Auditor's Office, May 23d, 1839."
It is now time to advert to one of the most extraordinary
exploits of American diplomacy, viz. :

COMPENSATION FOR FUGITIVE SLAVES OBTAINED BY THE
FED ERAL^OVERNMENT.
The presence of British armed vessels in our Southern waters,*
during the last war, afforded an opportunity to many of the
slaves to escape from bondage. In 1814, and while the war
was raging in all its fury, commissioners were appointed to
treat of peace, and instructions were given to them as to the
stipulations to be inserted in the treaty. These instructions
contain the following remarkable passage :
" The negroes taken from the Southern States should be returned to
their owners, or paid for at their full value. If these slaves were con
sidered as non-combatants, they ought to be restored : if as property,
they ought to be paid for." Moreover, this stipulation is expressly
included " in the conditions on which you are to insist in the proposed
negotiations." Letter of Instructions from Mr. Monroe, Secretary of
State, 28th January, 1814*
Thus we see that not even the calamities of war could divert
the attention of the Federal Government from the peculiar
interests of the slave-holders. The commissioners were faithful
to the charge thus given to them : and in the treaty concluded
* American State papers, Vol. IX, p. 364
22

250 jay's works.
at Ghent, adroitly provided for the restoration of slaves ; and in
such obscure terms as ultimately secured a far more extensive
concession than the British negotiators had any intention of
making. The 1st article is as follows:
" AU territory, places, and possessions whatever, taken from either
party, by the other during the war, or which may be taken after the
signing of this treaty, shall be restored without delay; and without
causing any destruction or carrying away of the artillery or other pub
lic property originally captured in said forts or places, and which shall
remain upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any
slaves or other private property."
The treaty was ratified at Washington on the 17th of Febru
ary ; and six days after, three commissioners appointed by the
government appeared in the Chesapeake, authorized to demand
and receive the slaves on board the British squadron still in our
waters. Captain John Clarelle happeneP& be at the moment in com
mand of the British forces, and he positively refused to give up
a single fugitive ; contending that the stipulation in the treaty
related only to slaves " originally captured in forts or places,"
and remaining in such forts or places at the exchange of the rat
ifications, and had no reference to slaves who had voluntarily
sought protection on ,board British vessels.
A few days after, Admiral Cockburn arrived and a similar
demand was made upon him. He also refused to surrender any
fugitives, as such were not included in the treaty, but gave up
eighty slaves which were found on Cumberland Island at the
time that place was captured, and who had not been removed
previous to the exchange of ratifications; this being a case
directly within the true meaning and mtention of the treaty.
The Secretary of State then applied to the British Charge d' Af
faires at Washington, requesting him to direct the Naval Com
manders in the Chesapeake to give up the fugitives on board
their vessels; but Mr. Baker declined interfering, taking the
same view of the article as the Admiral had done. In the
meantime, the squadron had sailed for Bermuda. The Gov
ernment, tracking the scent of a fugitive with bloodhound keen-

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 251
' ness, forthwith despatched an agent to Bermuda in pursuit, to
demand the negroes of the Governor. The worthy Englishman,
nettled at a requisition so derogatory to the honor of his country,
replied, " he would rather Bermuda, with every man, woman
and child in it, were sunk under the sea, than surrender one
slave that had sought protection under the flag of England."
The agent, (Thomas Spalding,) nothing daunted, now assumed
the diplomatist, and addressed a long argumentative despatch to
Admiral Griffith, commanding on the Bermuda station, demand
ing the fugitives, and promising to furnish him with a particular
hst of the slaves claimed, which he expected to receive in a few
days from the United States. The Admiral very cavalierly
assured Mr. Spalding that it was quite unnecessary for him to
wait at Bermuda for the expected document, since there was,
neither at Bermuda nor any other British island or settlement,
any authority " competent to deliver up persons, who, during
the late wars, had placed themselves under the protection of the
British flag."*
From British Governors and admirals, our Government now
turned to the British Cabinet, and found that there also it was
held a point of honor to keep faith, even with runaway slaves.
Lord Castlereagh declared that the government never would
have assented to a treaty requiring the surrender of persons
who had taken refuge under the British standard. Again was
the demand made, and again was it unequivocally rejected.
But the administration refused to yield, and insisted on a refer
ence of the question to the decision of a friendly power, and
named the Emperor of Russia as umpire. After tedious nego
tiation, this point was carried: and in 1818, a convention was
concluded at London, submitting the true construction of the
treaty to the Emperor, who decided in favor of the slave
holders. It now became necessary to determine how the num
ber of slaves, and their value, should be ascertained.. Another
negotiation ensued, which resulted in a second convention, by
which it was agreed that each party should appoint a certain
* State papers, 14th Congress, 2d Session. Senate documents, No. 28.

252 jay's WORKS.
number of Commissioners, who should form a Board to sit at
Washington, to receive and liquidate the claims of the masters.
But difficulties soon arose. The American Commissioners
insisted oninterest, which the others refused to allow. Negotia
tions again commenced, till at last the British Cabinet, wearied
with the pertinacity of the American Government, and sick of
the controversy, entered into a third convention, (13th of Nov.,
1826,) by which the enormous sum of one million two hun
dred and four thousand dollars was paid and received
. in full of all demands.
Thus after a persevering negotiation, conducted for twelve
years, at Washington, in the Chesapeake Bay, at Bermuda,
at London,and at Petersburg, did our government succeed in
obtaining most ample compensation for the fugitives. Commis
sioners were then appointed to distribute this sum ; and after
fixing an average value on each slave proved to have been car
ried away, it was found that a surplus still remained; and this
surplus was divided among the masters !
Having now seen the success that attended the pursuit of
fugitive slaves, let us next witness the
efforts of the federal government to recover
shipwrecked slaves.
Considering the extent of the American slave-trade, it is not
surprising that our slavers are occasionally driven out of their
course ; and are sometimes wrecked upon the dangerous reefs
abounding in the neighboring Archipelago.
On the 3d of January, 1831, the brig Comet, a regular slaver
from the District of Columbia, on her usual voyage from Alex*
andria to New Orleans, with a cargo of one hundred and sixty-
four slaves, was lost off the island of Abaco. The slaves were
saved, and carried into New Providence, where they were set at
liberty by the authorities of the island. A portion of the cargo
(146 head) was insured at New Orleans for $71,330.
On the 4th of February, 1839, the brig Encomium, from
Charleston to New Orleans, with forty-five slaves, was also

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 253
wrecked near Abaco, and the slaves carried into New Provi
dence, where, Uke their predecessors, they were declared to be
free. In February, 1835, the Enterprise, another slaver from the
National Domain, on her voyage to Charleston, with seventy-
eight slaves, was driven into Bermuda in distress. The pas
sengers, instead of being thrown into prison, as Bermudians
would have been in Charleston under similar circumstances,
were hospitably treated, and permitted to go at large. These
successive and unexpected transmutations of slaves into free
men, roused the ready zeal of the Federal Government. Di
rectly on the loss of the Comet, instructions were sent from
Washington to our Minister, to demand of the British Govern
ment the value of the cargo. In 1832, another despatch was
forwarded on the subject. The instructions were again renewed
in 1833, the Secretary of State remarking, this case "must be
brought to a conclusion ; the doctrine that would justify the
liberation of our slaves, is too dangerous to a large section of
our country to be tolerated."
In 1834, fresh instructions were sent, and a demand ordered
to be made for the value of the slaves in the Encomium.
In 1835, similar instructions were sent relative to the Enter
prise. In 1836, the instructions were renewed; the Secretary observ
ing to Mr. Stevenson, " In the present state of our diplomatic
relations with the Government of His Britannic Majesty, the
most immediately pressing of the matters with which the United
States Legation at London is now charged, is the claim of cer
tain American citizens against Great Britain for a number of
slaves, the cargoes of three vessels wrecked in British islands
in the Atlantic."
From a long and labored communication from Mr. Steven
son to Lord Palmerston, we extract the following morceau.
" The undersigned feels assured that it will only be necessary to
t? -f r% P aversion to the provisions of the Constitution of the
United (states, and the laws of many of the States, to satisfy him of the
existence of slavery, and that slaves are there regarded and protected as
property ; that by these laws, there is in fact no distinction in principle
22»

254 jay's works.
between property in persons and properly in things; and that the Gov
ernment have more than once, in the most solemn manner, determined
that slaves killed in the service of the United States, even in a state of war,
were to be regarded as property, and not as persons, and the Government
held responsible for their value."
No answer having been vouchsafed to this letter, , and the
argument being exhausted, Mr. Stevenson tried the virtue of a
diplomatic hint that the United States would go to war for their
slaves ; expressing his hope in a letter to Lord Palmerston, that
the British Government would
" Not longer consent to postpone the decision of a subject which had
been for so many years under its consideration ; and the effect of
which can be none other than to throw not only additional impediments
in the way of an adjustment, and increase those feelings of dissatisfac
tion and irritation which have already been excited ; but by possibility
tend to disturb and weaken the kind and amicable relations which now
so happily subsist between the two countries, and on the preservation of
which, so essentially depend ihe interests and happiness of both." Letter
of 31st December, 1836.
The British Cabinet, after long delays, reluctantly consented
to pay for the cargoes of the Comet and Encomium on the ground
that at the time the slaves composing them were liberated, sla
very still existed in the British West Indies ; but inasmuch as
the emancipation Act had been passed before the arrival of the
Enterprise, her passengers could not be recognized by British
courts as property, and therefore the government could not and
would not pay for them. The letter of Lord Palmerston an
nouncing this determination, concluded as follows :
" Slavery being now abolished throughout the British empire, there
can be no well-founded claim for compensation in respect of slaves,
who, under any circumstances, may come into British colonies, any
moi>e than there would be with respect to slaves brought into the
United Kingdom."
This announcement was received in high dudgeon at Wash
ington. Mr. Forsyth, the Secretary of State, wrote (27th
March, 1837) to Mr. Stevenson, that the principles on which the
claim of the owner of the slaves on board the Enterprise had
been rejected, " are regarded by the President as inconsistent

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT1. 255
with the respect due from all foreign powers to the institutions
of a friendly nation ! " Mr. Van Buren it seems is yet to learn
that our republican institution of negro slavery, instead of being
regarded with respect, is viewed with scorn and detestation by
the civilized world. He is not, however, ignorant of the influ
ence which his respect for it will have on the next presidential
election. Mr. Forsyth proceeded :
" The soundness of the principle is explicitly denied, and the serious
consequences with which, in the judgment of the President, it is
fraught to the properly and tranquillity of our citizens, call imperatively
upon him to announce to his majesty's government, immediately and
solemnly, that its application to them never can be acqtdesced in by the
government of the United States." * * * * " The President
has been particularly affected by the declaration, that no claim for
slaves coming into the British dominions, under any circumstances,
will be entertained by his majesty's government. Although the Presi
dent well knows that such is not the intention of his majesty's govern
ment, yet this declaration, if not regarded as an invitation, will be the
strongest inducement to the flight or abduction of slaves, by fraud or
force, from their masters ; and if adhered to, cannot fail to be consid
ered, especially by the sufferers from its influence, as an evidence of a
spirit hostile to the repose and security of the United States." * *
* * " Irritated by discussion without agreement, discussion will
be abandoned for retaliation or retortion ; and sooner or
later, the cordial good will, at present so happily existing between the
two countries, will be converted into bitter hostility — the fore
runner of incalculable injuries to both."
Mr. Stevenson was directed to lay this bullying epistle " in
extenso " before the British Minister. Lord Palmerston, in his
reply, did not condescend to notice the threats of Messrs. Van
Buren and Forsyth, but calmly repeated the assurance, that
" Slavery being now abolished throughout the British empire, there
can be no well-founded claim on the part of any foreigner in respect of
slaves, who, under any circumstances whatever, may come into the
British colonies, any more than there would be in respect to slaves
who might come into the United Kingdom."
The Federal Government did not deem it expedient, on the
receipt of this despatch, to declare war against Great Britain,
but preferred making another attempt at negotiation ; and a most
extraordinary attempt it was. Mr. Stevenson was instructed

256 jay's works.
(12th March, 1838) to ascertain whether, the British govern
ment " Are prepared at once to enter upon the negotiation of a convention
for regulating the disposition of slaves belonging to the United States
that may be carried by force into the colonies lying contiguous to our
territories, or driven in by stress of weather, with a view to the pre
vention of the ill effects to be apprehended from future collisions upon
a subject so liable to produce in the people of the respective countries
a high degree of excitement and irritation. In the meantime, the
President, anxious to avoid every thing that might tend in the least
degree to disturb the amicable relations subsisting between the two
countries, will abstain from taking those steps for the security of
the rights and property of our citizens which the recent decision ofher
majesty's government, in the absence of any agreement upon the sub
ject, would render necessary, until opportunity is offered for receiving
the answer of her majesty's government, to the application which you
are hereby directed to make."
It would be doing injustice to Mr. Van Buren to suppose him
capable of the weakness of believing that such a proposition
would be listened to after the reiterated declarations to the con
trary by Lord Palmerston. The correspondence it was known
would be published before the next election; and the South
would perceive that the President, although a Northern man,
had done what he could to sustain " the rights and property "
of the slave-holders. A reprieve, it will be seen, was granted
to her majesty's government until an opportunity was afforded
for receiving its answer. On the 10th of July, 1838, Mr. Stev
enson laid before the British minister the terms of the required
treaty, which were, —
1st. That Great Britain should "refrain from forcing hberty
upon such American slaves " as might hereafter be compelled
to enter British colonial ports.
2d. That she should prohibit the landing of such slaves in the
colonies. 3d. That when unavoidably landed, they should be placed
under military guard till their owners could re-ship them.
The answer, big with the fate of Britain, and which was to
terminate Mr. Van Buren's long-suffering and forbearance, was
returned on the 10th of July, 1838, — and such an answer!
The American minister is assured that " an engagement on the

ACTION 43F THE GENERAL GOVEBNMENT. 257
part of Great Britain not to force liberty upon American slaves,
would appear to assume a preference to slavery on the part of
such persons, which is scarcely consistent with the known prin
ciples of human nature ; " and moreover, that such engagement
is wholly unnecessary, since the British law forces no slave to
leave a master he wishes to serve. But that a law depriving
American slaves in the British dominions of the right of habeas
corpus, " would be so entirely at variance with every principle
of the British Constitution, that no government would venture to
propose it to Parliament, and no Parliament would agree to adopt
it." And as to placing American slaves under a military guard,
that they might be restored to their masters, it would be a duty
" so repugnant to every feeling of the officers and men of the
British army, that her majesty's government would in any case
be extremely unwilling to call upon her majesty's troops to per
form it ; and, in the next place, it is doubtful whether the troops
could be so employed consistently with the law now in force for
the abolition of the slave-trade, and her majesty's government
could not propose to Parliament the repeal of that law."
Such was the answer, — and not only has it been received,
but it -haul been submitted to Congress ; and yet Mr. Van Buren
still abstains " from taking those steps for the security of the
rights and property of our citizens " which the decision of her
majesty's government renders necessary !
Thus for eight successive years has the cabinet at Washington
been sending instructions to their agents in England to procure
payment for these cargoes of human flesh : nor has Congress
been wanting in zeal on the same subject. Twice has the
Senate called on the President to report the progress of the
negotiation. The first call (7th February, 1837) asked for a
copy of the ii
" Correspondence with the Government of Great Britain in relation
to the outrage committed on our flag, and the rights of our citizens, by
the authorities of Bermuda and New Providence, in seizing the slaves
on board the brigs 'Encomium' and 'Enterprise,' engaged in the
coasting trade, but which were forced by shipwreck and stress of
weather into the ports of those islands."

258 jay's works.
The language of this resolution indicates the influence exerted
by slavery over the Federal Government. Should a murderer
escape from England and land on our shores, we refuse to sur
render him to the justice of his country ; but when the West
India authorities refuse to deliver two hundred and eighty-seven
innocent men, women and children, thrown by the tempest under
their protection, into hopeless, interminable slavery, the Senate
solemnly pronounce the refusal to be an outrage on our flag, and
the rights of our citizens. Moreover, the liberation of these
persons is spoken of as a seizure of them, and the slavers carry
ing human cargoes to market, are most audaciously declared to
have been engaged in the coasting trade ! The real trade in
which these vessels were engaged, was
THE AMERICAN SLAVE-TRADE UNDER THE PROTECTION AND
REGULATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
We shall first exhibit the character and extent of this trade,
and then show that it is in fact carried on under the protection
and regulation of the Federal Government.
The competition of free with slave-labor in the bread-stuffs and
some other productions of Maryland, Virginia, and North Caro
lina, has greatly reduced the value of slaves as laborers in those
States ; and hence the disposition manifested there some years
since, to get rid of this unprofitable portion of their population.
But the rapid extension of the cotton and sugar cultivation in
the extreme South, together with the settlement of the new
States of Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, and Arkansas, occa
sioned a prodigious demand for slaves ; and the agriculturists of
Virginia and the neighboring States discovered that their most
lucrative occupation was that of raising live stock for the South
ern and Western markets. In Georgia and South nCarolina it
has also been found more advantageous to export their super
numeraries to Mobile, New Orleans, or Natchez, than to employ
them on their well-stocked plantations. Hence has grown up
an almost incredible transfer of slaves from the North to the
South ; and recently a new market has been opened in Texas,

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 259
giving an additional stimulus to the trade. It is impossible to
ascertain the exact amount of this trade, as the Secretary of the
Treasury in his annual report on the commercial statistics of
the United States, has never included any statements respecting
this branch of the " coasting trade." But, indeed, the returns
from the several Custom Houses of the size and value of the
human cargoes cleared for the Southern ports, if given, would
afford a very inadequate idea of the extent of the traffic, since it is
carried on by land as well as by sea. Whole conies of chained
slaves are driven long and painfnl journeys in the interior of the
Republic, much in the same manner as in the wilds of Africa.
The Rev. Mr. Dickey in a published letter thus describes a
coffle he met on the road in Kentucky :
" I discovered about forty black men aU chained together in the
following manner: each of them was handcuffed, and they were
arranged in rank and file ; a chain perhaps forty feet long was stretched
between two ranks, to which short chains were joined, which connected
with the handcuffs. Behind them were, I suppose, thirty women in
double rank, ihe couples tied hand to hand."
The Presbyterian Synod of Kentucky, in an address, in
1835, to the churches under their care, speaking of this trade,
say: " Brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives,
are torn asunder, and permitted to see each other no more. These
acts are daily occurring in the midst of us. The shrieks and agony
often witnessed on such occasions, proclaim with a trumpet tongue the
iniquity of OUR system. There is not a neighborhood where these
heartrending scenes are not displayed. There is not a village or road
that does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, whose
mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from all that
their hearts hold dear."
J. K. Paulding, the present Secretary of the Navy, gives
the following picture of a scene he witnessed in Virginia :
" The sun was shining out very hot, and in turning an angle of the
road we encountered the following group : first, a little cart drawn by
one horse, in which five or six half naked black children were tumbled
like pigs together. The cart had no covering, and they seemed to
have been actually broiled to sleep. Behind the cart marched three
Nack women, with head, neck and breasts uncovered, and without

260 jay's WORKS.
shoes or stockings ; next came three men, bareheaded, half naked, and
chained together with an ox-chain. Last of all came a white man — a
white man, Frank!— on horseback, carrying pistols in his belt, and
who, as we passed him, had the impudence to look us in the face with
out blushing. I should like to see him hunted by bloodhounds. At a
house where we stopped, a little further on, we learned that he had
bought these miserable beings in Maryland, and was marching them
in this manner to some of the more southern States. Shame on the
State of Maryland 1 Tsay — and shame on the State of Virginia, and
every State through which this wretched cavalcade was permitted to pass.
Do they expect that such exhibitions will not dishonor them in the eyes of
strangers, however they may be reconciled to them by education and
habit?"* The annexed picture, it will be perceived, is drawn by a
southern pencil.
" Place yourself in imagination for a moment in their condition —
with heavy galling chains riveted upon your person, half-naked, half-
starved, your back lacerated with the knotted whip, travelling to a
region where your condition through time will be second only to the
wretched creatures in hell. This depiction is not visionary — would to
God that it was !" Editorial, MaryvUle (Tennessee) Intelligencer, 4th
October, 1835.
» " Letters from the South, written during an excursion in the summer of
1816." New York, 1817. Vol. I, Letter XI, p. 117.
It may be thought by some that the elevation to a seat in the Cabinet, of
a gentleman who expresses himself with so much warmth and fearlessness
against one of the " peculiar institutions of the South," militates against our
idea that the' influence of the Federal Government is exerted in behalf of
slavery. Singular as it may appear, the appointment of Mr. Paulding is
nevertheless strongly corroborative of the opinion we have advanced ; and
the explanation is at once easy and amusing. The "Letters from the
South" were reprinted in 1835, and form the fifth and sixth volumes of an
edition of " Paulding's works." The letter from which we have quoted con
sists of fourteen pages, devoted to the subject of slavery. On turning to the
corresponding letter in the recent edition we find it shrunk to three pages,
containing no allusion to the internal trade, nor anything else that could of
fend the most sensitive Southerner. In the nineteenth letter, as printed in
1817, there is not a word about slavery. In the same letter, as published in
1835, we nfeet with the following most wonderful prediction — a prediction
that has lately been cited in the newspapers as a proof of the sagacity and
foresight of the Secretary of the Navy : —
" The second cause of disunion will be found in the slave population of
the South, whenever the misguided, or wilfully malignant zeal of the advo
cates of emancipation, shall institute, ds it one day doubtless will, a crusade
against the constitutional rights of the slave-owners, by sending among them
fanatical agents and fanatical tracts, calculated to render the slaves dis
affected, and the situation of the master and his family dangerous ; . when ap
peals shall be made under the sanction of religion to the passions of these
ignorant and excited blacks, calculated and intended to rouse their worst
and most dangerous passions, and to place the very lives of their masters,
their wives, and their children in the deepest peril ; when societies are formed
in the sister States for the avowed purpose of virtually destroying the value

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 261
As we are about to enter into particulars respecting the
American slave-trade, it may not be uninteresting to inquire
who are its victims. They are native bom Americans. But of
what color and descent ? This will no doubt be deemed by
many a very unnecessary question ; and no little indignation
will probably be excited when we answer that large numbers of
these victims are white men and women, and the children of
American citizens.
People at the North are disposed to be incredulous when they
hear of white slaves at the South : and yet a little reflection
would convince them not only that there must be such slaves
under the present system, but that in process of time a large
proportion of the slaves must be as white as their masters.
Were there no other sources of information respecting the com
plexions of the southern slaves, the newspaper notices of run-

of this principal item in the property of a southern planter ; when it becomes
a question mooted in the Legislatures of the States, or of the general govern
ment, whether the rights of the master over his slave shall be any longer
recognized or maintained, and when it is at last evident that nothing will
preserve them but secession, then will certain of the stars of our beautiful
constellation " start madly from their spheres and jostle the others in then-
wild career."
In the title of the new edition, the date of the " excursion" is modestly
omitted, but the reader is not informed that the spirit of prophecy descended
upon the writer, not while journeying at the South, but while witnessing in
New York the operations of the predicted societies, and after the city had
been convulsed by the abolition riots.
In 1836, Mr. Paulding published his " Slavery in the United States." In
this work both the Old and New Testament are made to give their sanction
to slavery. Great Britain, in abolishing slavery in the West Indies, is
charged with having " committed robbery under cover of humanity." — (p.
51.) " A community of free blacks rising among the ruins of States, lords
of the soil, smoking with the habitations and blood of their exterminated
masters and families," would, we are assured, be only fulfilling "the wishes"
of the abolitionists. — (p. 56.) The advocates of immediate emancipation
recommend, it is asserted, "indiscriminate marriages between the whites
and blacks," — (p. 61), and well educated respectable females amongst them
are apparently anxious " to become the mothers of mulattoes." — (p. 62.)
Slavery, we are told, "is becoming gradually divested of all its harsh fea
tures, and is now only the bugbear of the imagination, — (p. 26 ;) and Mr.
Paulding affirms — " In a residenoe of several years within the District, and
a pretty extensive course of travel in some of the southern States, (the ex
cursion in the summer of 1816, we suppose,) we never saw or heard of any
such instances of cruelty. We saw no chains (!) and heard no stripes." — (p.
168.) We trust our readers are now fully convinced of this gentleman's qualifica
tions for the office of Secretary of the Navy, and of Mr. Van Buren's con
sistency in appointing him,.
23

262 jay's works.
aways would most abundantly confirm our assertion. Of these
notices, we give the following as samples.
_ " $ 100 Reward. — The above reward will be paid for the apprehen
sion of my man William. He .is a very bright mulatto — straight, yel
lowish hair. I have no doubt he will change his name, and try to pass
himself for a WHITE MAN, which he may be able to do, unless to a
close observer.
August 9. T. S. Pichard."
" $100 Reward. — Ran away from James Hyhart, Paris, Kentucky, on
the 29th of June last, the mulatto boy Norton, about fifteen years old,
a very bright mulatto, and would be taken for a WHITE BOY, if
not closely examined. His hair is black and straight, &c." — New
Orleans True American, 11th August, 1836.
" $100 Reward — Will be given for the apprehension of my negro (!)
Edmund Kenney. He has straight hair, and complexion so nearly
WHITE, that it is believed a stranger would suppose there was no
African blood in him. He was with my boy Dick a short time since
in Norfolk, and offered him for sale, and, was apprehended, but escaped
under pretence of being a WHITE MAN.
Anderson Bowles.
Richmond Whig, 6th January, 1836."
" $50 Reward will be given for the apprehension and delivery to me
of the following slaves : Samuel, and Judy his wife, with their four
children, belonging to the estate of Sacker Dubberly, deceased.
I will give $10 for the apprehension of William Dubberly, a slave
belonging to the estate. William is about 19 years old, QUITE
WHITE, and would not readily be mistaken for a slave.
John T. Lane.
Newbern Spectator, 13th March, 1837."
" $100 Reward. — Ban away from the subscriber, a bright mulatto
man slave, named Sam. Light sandy hair, blue eyes, ruddy complexion
—is so WHITE as very easily to pass for a free WHITE MAN.
Edwin Peck.
Mobile, April 22, 1837."
" $50 Reward. — I will give the above reward of fifty dollars for the
apprehension and securing in any jail, so that I get him again, or de
livering to me in Dandridge, E. Tenn., my mulatto boy, named Pres
ton, about twenty years old. It is supposed he will try to pass as a
free WHITE MAN.
Oct. 12, 1838. John Roper."
"Ran away from the subscriber, working on the plantation of Col. H.
Tinker, a bright mulatto boy, named Alfred. Alfred is about eight
years of age, pretty well grown, has blue eyes, light flaxen hair, skin dis
posed to freckle. He will try to pass as FREE BORN.
S. G. Stewart.
Green County, Alabama."

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 263
In the New Orleans Bee, of June 22, 1831, P. Bahi adver
tises as a runaway, " Maria, with a CLEAR WHITE com
plexion ! "
Mr. Paxton, a Virginia writer, tells us in his work on slavery,
that " the best blood in Virginia flows in the veins of the
slaves." Dr. Torrey, in his work on domestic slavery in the United
States, p. 14, says :
" While at a public house in Fredericktown, there came into the
bar-room, on Sunday, a decently dressed white man, of quite a fight
complexion, in company with one who was totally black. After they
went away, the landlord observed that the white man was a slave. I
asked him with some surprise how that could be possible ? To which
he replied, that he was a descendant, by female ancestry, of an African
slave. He also stated, that not far from Fredericktown, there was a
slave estate on which there were several white females, of as fair and
elegant appearance as white ladies in general, held in legal bondage as
slaves ! ! "
A Missouri paper, reporting the trial of a slave boy, remarks :
" All the physiological marks of distinction which characterize the
African descent, had disappeared. His skin was fair, his hair soft,
straight, fine and white, his eyes blue, but rather disposed to the hazel
nut color, nose prominent, the hps small and well formed, forehead
high and prominent."
In the summer of 1835, a slave-holder from Maryland arrested
as his fugitive a young woman in Philadelphia. A trial ensued,
when it was most conclusively proved that the alleged slave,
Mary Gilmore, was the child of poor Irish parents, and had
not a drop of African blood in her veins.
A paper printed at Louisville, Ky., the " Emporium," relates
a circumstance that occurred in that city, in the following terms.
" A laudable indignation was universally .manifested among our
citizens on Saturday last, by the exposure of a woman and two children
for sale at public auction, at the front of our principal tavern. The
woman and children were as white as any of our citizens : indeed,
we scarcely ever saw a child with a fairer or clearer complexion than
the younger one." Niles's Register, June, 1821.
Mr. Niles tells us, in his Register, that Mr. Calhoun, the late
Vice President, had related to him the case of a man " placed

264 jay's WORKS.
on the stand for sale as a slave, whose appearance, in all re
spects, gave him a better claim to the character of a WHITE
MAN, than most persons so acknowledged could show." Reg
ister, 25th Oct. 1834.
We will now attempt to give the reader some idea of the
extent of the trade — a trade in which human beings of every
shade, from the purest white to the deepest black, are made
articles of merchandise, and treated with cruelty httle if any
less than that which has made the African slave-trade the exe
cration of the civilized world.
" Dealing in slaves," says the Baltimore Register, " has become a
large business ; establishments are made in several places in Maryland
and Virginia, at which they are sold like cattle : these places of deposit
are strongly built, and well supplied with iron thumb-screws and gags,
and ornamented with cowskins and other whips, oftentimes bloody."
The advertisements of the Baltimore traders show that the
Maryland Colonization Society, ia their endeavors to suppress
the slave-trade, may find a field for their labors less distant than
the coast of Africa. We annex some samples.
"Austin Woodfolk, of Baltimore, wishes to inform the slave-holders
of Maryland and Virginia, that their friend still lives to give cash and
the highest price for negroes," &c.
"General Slave Agency Office. — Gentlemen planters from the
South, and others who wish to purchase negroes, would do well to give
me a call. Lewis Scott."
" Cash for two hundred Negroes. — The highest cash prices will be
paid for negroes of both sexes, by application to me or my agent, at
Booth's Garden. HorE H. Slater."
"For New Orleans. — A coppered, copper-fastened packet-brig,
Isaac Franklin, will sail on the 1st of February, for Baltimore. Those
having servants to ship will do well by making early application to
James F. Purvis," &c.
Human flesh is now the great staple of Virginia. In the
Legislature of this State, in 1832, Thomas Jefferson Ran
dolph declared that Virginia had been converted into " one

action of the general government. 265
grand menagerie, where men are reared for the market like oxen
for the shambles." This same gentleman thus compared the
foreign with the domestic traffic.
" The trader (African) receives the slave, a stranger in aspect, lan
guage, and manner, from the merchant who brought him from the
interior. But here, sir; individuals whom the master has known from
infancy — whom he has seen sporting in the innocent gambols of
childhood — who have been accustomed to look to him for protection,
he tears from the mother's arms, and sells into a strange country,^ among
a strange people, subject to cruel taskmasters. In my opinion it is much
worse." Mr. Gholson, of Virginia, in his speech in the Legislature
of that State, January 18, 1831, (see Richmond Whig,) says :
" The legal maxim of partus sequitur ventrem is coeval with the ex
istence of the rights of property itself, and is founded in wisdom and
justice. It is only on the justice and inviolability of this maxim, that
the master foregoes the service of the female slave, has her nursed and
attended during the period of her gestation, and raises the helpless
and infant offspring. The value of the property justifies the expense ;
and I do not hesitate to say, that in its increase consists much of our
wealth." Professor Dew, now President of the College of William
and Mary, Virginia, in his review of the debate in the Virginia
Legislature, 1831-2, speaking of the revenue arising from the
trade, says :
" A full equivalent being thus left in the place of the slave, this em
igration becomes an advantage to the State, and does not check the
black population as much as at first view we might imagine, because it
furnishes every inducement to the master to attend to the negroes, to
encourage breeding, and to cause the greatest number possible to be
raised. * * Virginia is, in fact, a negro-raising State for other
States." Mr. C. F. Mercer asserted in the Virginia Convention of
1729: " The tables of the natural growth of the slave population demon
strate, when compared with the increase of its numbers in the Com
monwealth for twenty years past, that an annual revenue of not less
than a million and a half of dollars is derived from the exportation of
a part of this population." Debates, p. 99,
23*

266 jay's works.
Professor E. A. Andrews gives a conversation he had with a
trader on board a steamboat on the Potomac, in 1835.
" In selling his slaves, N — = — - assures me he never separates fami
hes ; but that in purchasing them he is often compelled to do so, for
that his business is to purchase, and he must take such as are in the
market. Do you often buy the wife without the husband ? Yes, very
often ; and frequently, too, they sell me the mother, while they keep
the children. I have often known them take away the infant from the
mother's breast, and keep it, while they sold her. Children from one to
eighteen months old, are now worth about one hundred dollars." *
The town of Petersburg, in Virginia, seems to enjoy a large
share of this commerce, judging from the advertisements of its
merchants. "Cash for Negroes. — The subscribers are particularly anxious to
make a shipment of negroes shortly. All persons who have slaves to
part with, will do well to call as soon as possible.
Overly & Saunders."
" The subscriber being desirous of making another shipment by the
Brig Adelaide, to New Orleans, on the first of March, will give a good
market price for fifty negroes, from ten to thirty years old.
Henry Davis."
" The subscriber wishes to purchase one hundred slaves, of both
sexes, from the age of ten to thirty, for which he is disposed to give
much higher prices than have heretofore been given. He will call on
those living in the adjacent counties to see any property. Ansley Davis."
But of all the Virginia merchants, Mr. Collier, of Richmond,
seems to be the most enterprising. We give extracts from his
Notice :
"Notice. — This is to inform my former acquaintances, and the public
generally, that I yet continue in the SLAVE-TRADE, at Richmond,
Virginia, and will at all times buy and give a fair market price for
young negroes. Persons in this State, Maryland, or North Carolina,
wishing to sell lots of negroes, are particularly requested to forward
their wishes to me at this place. Persons wishing to purchase lots of
negroes, are requested to give me a call, as I keep constantly on hand
at this place, a great many for sale ; and have at this time the use of
one hundred young negroes', consisting of boys, young men, and girls.
I will sell at all times, at a small advance, on cost, to suit purchasers.
* Slavery and the Domestic Slave Trade in the United States, p. 147.

Action of the general government. 267
I have comfortable rooms, with a jail attached, for the reception of the
negroes ; and persons coming to this place to sell slaves, can be accom
modated, and every attention necessary will be given to have them
well attended to ; and when it may be desired, the reception of the
company of gentlemen dealing in slaves will conveniently and atten
tively be received. My situation is very healthy and suitable for the
business. Lewis A. Collier."
Joseph Wood, of Hamburg, South Carolina, a "gentleman
dealing in slaves," advertises that he " has on hand a likely
parcel of Virginia negroes, and receives new supplies every fif
teen days."
" 120 Negroes for sale. — The subscriber has just arrived from Pe
tersburg, Virginia, with one hundred and twenty likely young negroes,
of both sexes, and every description, which he offers for sale on the
most reasonable terms. The lot now on hand consists of plough-boys,
several likely and well-qualified house servants, of both sexes, several
women with small children, small girls, suitable for nurses, and several
SMALL BOYS WITHOUT THEIR MOTHERS. BENJAMIN .DAVIS.
Hamburg, S. C, Sept. 28, 1838."
And what are the pecuniary results of this commerce ? Mr.
Mercer, as we have seen, estimated the annual revenue to Vir
ginia from the export of human flesh, at one million and a half
of dollars. But this was in 1829, before the trade had reached
its present palmy state. " The Virginia Times," in 1836, in an
article on the importance of increasing the banking capital of
the Commonwealth, estimates the number of slaves exported
for sale the " last twelve months," at forty thousand ; each
slave averaging six hundred dollars, and thus yielding a capital
of twenty-four millions, of which the editor thinks at least
thirteen millions might be contributed for banking purposes.*
In 1837, a committee, appointed at a pubhc meeting of the
citizens of Mobile, on the subject of the existing pecuniary
pressure, in their report stated :
" So large has been the return of slave labor, that purchases by
Alabama, of that species of property from other States since 1833,
have amounted to ten millions of dollars annually."

* Niles's Register.

268 jay's works.
Let us now visit the " Metropolis of the Nation," the very
heart of this mighty commerce in the bodies and souls of men.
The District of Columbia, from its relative situation to the
breeding States, forms a convenient depot for the negroes, pre
vious to their exportation ; and the non-interference of Congress
gives the traders " under the exclusive jurisdiction " of the Fed
eral Government, as unlimited power over the treatment and
stowage of their human cargoes, as their brethren enjoy on the
coast of Guinea.
Hence large establishments have grown up upon the national
domain, provided with prisons for the safe-keeping of the negroes
till a full cargo is procured ; and should at any time the factory
prisons be insufficient, the public ones, erected by Congress, are
at the service of the dealers, and the United States Marshal
becomes the agent of the slave-trader !
It must be admitted that the following pictures of the scenes
witnessed in the District of Columbia, are drawn by impartial
hands. So long ago as 1802, the Grand Jury of Alexandria,
complaining of the trade, remarked :
" These dealers in the persons of our fellow-men collect within this
District, from various parts, numbers of these victims of slavery, and
lodge them in some place of confinement until they have completed
their numbers. They are then turned out into our streets, and exposed
to view loaded with chains, as though they had committed some heinous
offence against our laws. We consider it as a grievance, that citizens
from a distant part of the United States should be permitted to come
within the District and pursue a traffic fraught with so much misery to
a class of beings entitled to our protection try the laws of justice and
humanity ; and that the interposition of civil authority cannot be had
to prevent parents being wrested from their offspring, and children
from their parents, without respect to the ties of nature. We consider
these grievances demanding Legistative redress" — that is, redress by
Congress. In 1816, Judge Morell, of the Circuit Court of the United
States, in his charge to the Grand Jury of Washington, observed,
speaking o.f the slave-trade :
" The frequency with which the streets of the city had heen crowded
with manacled captives, sometimes on the Sabbath, could not fail to
shock the feelings of all humane persons."

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 269
The same year, John Randolph moved in the House of
Representatives for a committee
" To inquire into the existence of an inhuman and illegal traffic of
slaves carried on, in, and through the District .of Columbia, and report
whether any or what measures are necessary for putting a stop to the
same." The motion was adopted ; had it been made twenty years
later, it would, under the rules of the House, have been laid on
the table, " and no further action had thereon."
The Alexandria Gazette of June 22d, 1827, thus describes
the scenes sanctioned by our professedly republican and Chris
tian Legislature :
" Scarcely a week passes without some of these wretched creatures
being driven through our streets. After having been confined, and
sometimes manacled in a.loathsome prison, they are turned out in pub
lic view to take their departure for the South. The children and
some of the women are generally crowded into a cart or wagon, while
others follow on foot, not unfrequently handcuffed and chained together.
Here you may behold fathers and brothers leaving behind them the
dearest objects of affection, and moving slowly along in the mute agony
of despair- — • there the young mother sobbing over the infant whose
innocent smiles seem but to increase her misery. From some you will
hear the burst of bitter lamentation, while from others, the loud hysteric
laugh breaks forth, denoting still deeper agony."
In 1828, a petition for the suppression of this trade was pre
sented to Congress, signed by more than one thousand inhabitants
of tKis District.
In 1829, the Grand Jury of Washington made a communica
tion to Congress, in which they say :
" Provision ought to be made to prevent purchasers, for the purpose
of removal and transportation, from making the cities of the District,
depots for the imprisonment oi the slaves they collect. The manner
in which they are brought and confined in these places, and carried
through our streets, is necessarily such as to excite the most painful
feelings. It is believed that the whole community would be gratified
by the interference of Congress for the suppression of these receptacles,
and the exclusion of this disgusting traffic from the District."
In 1830, the "Washington Spectator" thus gave vent to its
indignation. "The slave-trade in the Capital. — Let it be known to the citizens of
America, that at the very time when the procession which contained

270 jay's works.
the President of the United States and his Cabinet was marching in
triumph to the Capitol, another kind of procession was marching
another way ; and that consisted of colored human beings, handcuffed
in pairs, and driven along by what had the appearance of a man on
horseback ! A similar scene was repeated on Saturday last ; a drove,
consisting of males and females, chained in couples, starting from Roly's
tavern on foot for Alexandria, where with others they are to embark
on board a slave-ship in waiting to convey them to the South. Where
is the O'Connell in this Republic that will plead for the emancipation
of the District of Columbia ? "
The advertisements of the dealers indicate the extent oi the
traffic. The National Intelligencer of the 28th of March,
1836, printed at Washington, contained the following adver-
tisments :
"Cash for five hundred Negroes, including both sexes, from ten to
twenty-five years of age. Persons having likely servants to dispose
of, will find it their interest to give us a call, as we will give higher
prices in cash than any other purchaser who is now or may hereafter
come into the market. Franklin & Amfield, Alexandria."
"Cash for three hundred Negroes. — The highest cash price will be
given by the subscriber, for negroes of both sexes, from the ages of
twelve to twenty-eight. William H. Williams, Washington."
"Cash for four hundred Negroes, including both sexes, from twelve
to twenty-five years of age. James H. Birch, Washington City."
" Cash for Negroes. — We will at all times give the highest prices
in cash. for likely young negroes of both sexes, from ten to thirty years
of age; J. W. Neal & Co., Washington."
Here we find three traders in the District, advertising in one
day for twelve hundred negroes, and a fourth offering to buy an
indefinite number.
In a later number of the Intelligencer, we find the following :
"Cash for Negroes. — I will give the highest price for likely ne
groes from ten to twenty-five years of age.
George Kephart."
"Cash for Negroes.— I will give cash and liberal prices for any
number of young and likely negroes, from eight to forty years of age.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 27l
Persons having negroes to dispose of will find it to their advantage to
give me a call at my residence on the corner of Seventh street and
Maryland Avenue, and opposite Mr. William's private jail.
William H. Richards."
" Casli for Negroes. — The subscriber wishes to purchase a number
of Negroes for the Louisiana and Mississippi market. Himself or an
agent at ah times can be found at his jail, on Seventh street.
Wm. H. Williams."
The unhappy beings purchased by these traders in human
flesh, men and women, and children of eight ye"ars old, are sent
to the South, either over land in coffles, or by sea, in crowded
slavers. Fostered by Congress, these traders lose all sense of
shame ; and we have in the National Intelligencer the following
announcement of the regular departure of three slavers, belong
ing to a single factory.
"Alexandria and New Orleans Packets. — Brig Tribune, Samuel C.
Bush, master, will sail as above on the 1st of January — Brig Isaac
Franklin, Wm. Smith, master, on the 15th of January — Brig Uncas,
Nath. Boush, master, on the 1st of February. They will continue to
leave this port on the 1st and 15th of each month, throughout the ship
ping season. Servants that are intended to be shipped, will at any time
be received for safe-keeping at twenty-five cents a day.
John Amfield, Alexandria."
This infamous advertisement of the regular sailing of three
slavers, with the offer of the use of the factory prison, appears
in one of the principal journals of the United States. Its pro
prietor has several times been chosen printer to Congress, and
there is no reason for believing that he has ever lost the vote of
a northern member for this prostitution of his columns.
But the climax of infamy is still untold. This trade in blood ;
this buying, imprisoning, and exporting of boys and girls eight
years old ; this tearing asunder of husbands and wives^parents
and children, is all legalized in virtue of authority delegated by
Congress ! ! The 249th page of the laws of the city of Wash
ington is polluted by the following enactment, bearing date 28th
July, 1838:
" For a license to trade or traffic in slaves for profit, four hundred
- .dollars."

272 jay's works.
A terrific feature of this trade is the mortality it occasions.
A writer in the New Orleans Argus of 1830, in an article on
, the sugar cultivation, thus coolly estimates one item of expen
diture. 'J The loss by death in bringing slaves from a northern climate,
which our planters are under the necessity of doing, is not less than
TWENTY-FIVE PER CENT."
If the change of climate be thus fatal, then those who survive
this change must, of course, be deemed more valuable, as the
planters will run less hazard in buying them after having be
come acclimated. Now what language do southern advertise
ments hold on this point ? We have of course room for only a
few specimens, but they attest the superior value attached to
acclimated negroes, and of course the loss of life attributed to
" bringing slaves from a northern climate."
"I offer my plantation for sale. Also seventy-five acclimated
negroes. O. B. Cobb.
Vicksburg Register, Dec. 27, 1838."
" I will sell my Old River plantation, near Columbia, in Arkansas,
also one hundred and thirty acclimated negroes. Ben. Hughes.
Port Gibson, 14th Jan."
"Probate Sale. — Will be offered for sale at public auction to the
highest hidder one hundred and thirty acclimated slaves.
G. W. Keeton,
Judge of the Parish of Concordia, La.
March 22, 1837."
General Felix Houston advertises in the Natchez Courier,
April 6th, 1838, "Thirty very fine acclimated negroes."
But the waste of life in the process of acclimation, is but a
portion of the mortality caused by this murderous traffic. If we
call to mind the crowded slavers — the chained coflles — the
dreary journeys of hundreds of miles — the forced separation of
husbands and wives, parents and children — the broken hearts
and fevered brains of the helpless victims, we cannot question
that the sufferings of multitudes are shortened by a premature
death. We could detail various suicides, induced by the horrible
anticipation of this loathsome transfer, but one shall suffice, and

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 273
that related by the present Secretary of the Navy. This
gentleman, in his southern excursion, fell in company with a
coffie-driver, and in the first (not the last) editions of his letters
from the South, gives the confessions made by the wretch him
self in his presence.
" All along the road, it seems, he made it his business to inquire
where lived a man who might be tempted to become a party in this
accursed traffic; and when he had got some half dozen of these poor
creatures, he tied their hands behind their backs, and drove them three
or four hundred miles or more, bareheaded and half naked, through
the burning southern sun. ' I made one bad purchase though,' con
tinued he, ' I bought a young mulatto girl, a lively creature, a great
bargain. She had been the favorite of her master, who had lately
married. The difficulty was to get her to go, for the poor creature
loved her master. However, I swore most bitterly I was only going to
take her to her mother's at  , and she went with mo, though she
seemed to doubt me very much. But when she discovered, at last,
that we were out of the State, I thought she would go mad, and, in
fact, the next night she drowned herself in the river close by. I lost a
good five hundred dollars by this foolish trick.' " Vol. I, p. 121.*
We now put it to the consciences of our readers, if the facts
developed in the preceding pages do not amply justify the fol
lowing pregnant remarks of the editor of a late New Orleans
Journal :
" The United States law (prohibiting the African slave-trade,) may,
and probably does put millions into the pockets of the people living
between the Roanoke and Mason and Dixon's line ; still we think it
would require some casuistry to show that the present slave-trade from
that quarter is a whit better than the one from Africa." New Orleans
Courier, 15th Feb. 1839.
Such is the character and extent of the American slave-trade,
impudently and wickedly called by the Senate, " the coasting
trade," — a trade protected and regulated by the very govern
ment which in the Treaty of Ghent, with wonderful assurance,
declared that " the traffic in slaves is irreconcilable with the prin
ciples of justice and humanity."
The government may be fairly said to protect the trade, when
it refuses to exercise its constitutional power to suppress it.
* It was not, it would seem, till the honorable Secretary turned politician,
that he discovered that slavery is now " only the bugbear of the imagina
tion." 24

274 jay's works.
The very fact that slave-traders are licensed in the District, is a
full and complete acknowledgment that there is authority com
petent to forbid their nefarious business. > The continuance of
the traffic under the immediate and " exclusive jurisdiction" of
the National Government, stamps with sin and disgrace every
member of Congress who assents to it ; and more especially,
and with peculiar infamy, those northern members who, for
party purposes, vote that " Congress ought not in any way to in
terfere with slavery in the District of Columbia."
But we are constantly told by the apologists of slavery that
the American slave-trade is beyond the constitutional control of
the Federal Government; yet that government abolished the
African slave-trade, and no human being ever questioned its
right to do so. But whence was that right derived ? Solely
from the 8th Section of the 1st Article of the Constitution, viz. : —
" Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign na
tions, and among the several States."
In virtue of this delegation, of power Congress has made it a
capital crime to carry on commerce in African slaves. Now
this legislative prohibition of the traffic is constitutional, is
proved by the highest possible authority, even the Constitution
itself; for that instrument, after giving Congress power to regu
late commerce with foreign nations, restricts it from abohshing
the African slave-trade before the expiration of twenty years.*
To regulate, we are told, does not include the power to destroy ;
yet it seems the power to regulate commerce with foreign na
tions does include the power to interdict an odious, cruel, and
wicked branch of it. By what logic then will it be shown that
the power to regulate the commerce among the several States,
* The phraseology of this restriction shows that it was intended to limit
the power to regulate commerce as well "among the several States" as with
foreign nations. " The migration, or importation of such person as any of
the existing States shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight." —
Art. 1, Sec. 9. If any State should think proper to admit slaves migrating
from another State, it was not to be restrained from doing so till 1808. If-it
should think proper to import slaves from a foreign country, it might do so,
notwithstanding the wishes of Congress, till the same period.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 275
does not include the power to interdict a traffic in men, women,
and children ? Is it more wicked, more base, more cruel, to
traffic in African savages than in native born Americans — in
white men, and women, and children — in the offspring of our
own citizens, and not unfrequently, of very distinguished citizens ?
Yet it is this abominable commerce that our government fosters
and protects. We have seen its watchful guardianship over
this trade in its unceasing endeavors to obtain compensation from
Great Britain for two hundred and eighty-seven slaves thrown
by the winds and waves under her protection. Mr. Van Buren,
our Minister in England, in an official note on this subject, (Feb.
25, 1832,) remarked :—
" The Government of the United States respecting the actual and
unavoidable condition of things at home, while it most sedulously and
rigorously guards against the further introduction of slaves, protects at
the same time by reasonable laws the rights of the owners of that spe
cies of property in the States where it exists, and permits its transfer
coastwise from one of these States to another, under suitable re
strictions to prevent the fraudulent introduction of foreign slaves."
By the act of Congress of March 2d, 1807, masters of vessels
under forty tons burden, are forbidden to transport coastwise
from one port to another in the United States any person of
color to be sold or held as a slave, under the penalty of $800
for each slave so transported.
By the same act, masters of vessels, over forty tons burden,
sailing coastwise from one port to another, and intending to
transport persons of color to be sold or held as slaves, must first
make out duplicate manifests, specifying the names, age, sex,
and stature of the persons transported, and the names and resi
dence of their owner or shipper. These manifests are to be
delivered to the collector of the port, who is to retain one and
return the other to the master, with " a permit " endorsed on it,
" authorizing him to proceed to the port of destination." If the
master presumes to transport a slave without such permit, not
only is the vessel forfeited, but the master is to pay a penalty of
$1000 for each slave shipped. On the arrival of the vessel at
the port of destination, the manifest, with the permit, is to be
handed to the collector, who thereupon is to grant a "permit"

"276 jay's works.
for the landing of the slaves, and if any are landed without such
permit, the master forfeits one thousand dollars. So it seems
Congress may prohibit the slave-trade in vessels under forty
tons ; but according to northern politicians, it would be uncon
stitutional to prohibit it in vessels over forty tons ; and according
to the slave-holders, such a prohibition would cause a dissolution
of the Union ! But alas ! the permission, regulation, and pro
tection of this traffic is in perfect keeping with

THE DUPLICITY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN REGARD
TO THE SUPPRESSION OF THE AFRICAN SLAVE-TRADE.
The great struggle for the abstract principles of human lib
erty in which our fathers engaged with so much zeal, had, at
the close of the revolutionary war, excited a very general con
viction of the injustice of slavery. When the convention
appointed to form a Federal Constitution assembled, the north
ern and many of the southern delegates were disposed to give
the new government such unqualified power over the commerce
of the nation, as would enable it to abolish a traffic no less at
variance with our republican professions than with the" precepts
of humanity and religion. A portion of the southern delegates,
however, insisted on a temporary restriction of this power as
the price of their adhesion to the Union ; and their threat of
marring the beauty, symmetry, and strength of the fair fabric
about to be erected, by withdrawing from it the support of the
States they represented, unfortunately induced the convention to
yield to their wishes, and to insert in the Constitution a clause
restraining Congress from abolishing the African slave-trade
for twenty years. Mr. Madison has left us the following his
tory of this iniquitous clause.
" The southern States would not have entered into the union of
America without the temporary permission of that trade. The gentle
men from South Carolina and Georgia argued in this manner : ' We
have now liberty to import this species of property, and much of the
property now possessed has been purchased, or otherwise acquired in
contemplation of improving it by the assistance of imported slaves.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 277
What would be the consequence of hindering us from it ? The slaves
of Virginia would rise in value, and we should be obliged to go to
your markets.' " Debates in Virginia Convention.
We have here the solution of much contradictory action on
the part of slave-holders in regard to this trade. It seems to
have been early discovered that its abolition would be advan
tageous to the slave-breeders, but not to the slave-buyers.
Owing to climate, soil, and productions, slave-labor is less prof
itable in Maryland and Virginia than in the more southern
States ; hence the greater demand for this labor in the latter
States has, since the cessation of importation, caused a constant
influx of slaves from the former. The breeders in Maryland
and Virginia have, for the most part, striven in good faith for
the total suppression of the African trade ; while those who
originally refused to enter the Union unless permitted, for at
least twenty years, to import their slaves directly from Africa,
hove since evinced very little desire to secure to their neighbors
the monopoly of the market.
Whenever the opponents of abolition find it convenient to re
fer to the action of the Federal Government on the subject of
slavery, they laud and magnify its horror of the African slave-
trade, and.exultingly point .to the law of Congress, branding it
with the penalties of piracy. And yet we are inclined to believe
that the conduct of our government in relation to this very sub
ject, is one of the foulest stains attached to our national admin
istration. Has the trade been suppressed ? Has the Federal
Government in good faith endeavored to suppress it ? These
are important questions, and we shall endeavor to solve them by
an appeal to facts and official documents.
In a debate in Congress in 1819, Mr. Middleton, of South
Carolina, stated that in his opinion, 13,000 Africans were annu
ally smuggled into the United States. Mr. Wright, of Virginia,
estimated the number at .15,000. The same year, Judge Story,
of the Supreme Court of the United States, in a charge to a
grand jury, thus expresses himself: —
" We have but too many proofs from unquestionable sources, that
it (the African trade) is still carried on with all the implacable feroci-
24*

278 jay's WORKS.
ty and insatiable rapacity of former times. Avarice has grown more
subtle in its evasions, and watches and seizes its prey with an appetite
quickened rather than suppressed by its guilty vigils. American citi
zens are steeped to their very mouths (I can scarcely use too bold a
figure,) in this stream of iniquity."
On the 2 2d of January, 1811, the Secretary of the Navy
wrote to the commanding naval officer at Charleston :
V I hear, not without great concern, that the law prohibiting the im
portation of slaves has been violated in frequent instances, near St.
Mary's, since the gun-boats have been withdrawn from that station."
On the 14th of March, 1814, the collector of Darien, Georgia,
thus wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury :
" I am in possession of undoubted information, that African and
West India negroes are almost daily illicitly introduced into Georgia,
for sale or settlement, or passing through it to the territories of the
United States, for similar purposes. These facts are notorious, and it
is not unusual to see such negroes in the streets of St. Mary's ; and such
too, recently captured by our vessels of war, and ordered for Savan
nah, were illegally bartered by hundreds in that city, for this bartering
(or bonding, as it is called, but in reality selling,') actually took place
before any decision had passed by the court respecting them. I can
not but again express to you, sir, that these irregularities and mockings
of the laws by men who understand them, are such that it requires the
immediate interposition of Congress to effect the suppression of this
traffic ; for as things are, should a faithful officer of the Government
apprehend such negroes, to avoid the penalties imposed by the laws,
the proprietors disclaim them, and some agent of the Executive demands
a' delivery of the same to him, who may employ them as he pleases, or ef
fect a sale of them by way of bond for restoration of the negroes when
legally called on so to do, which bond is understood to be forfeited, as the
amount of the bond is so much less than the value of the property.
After much fatigue, peril, and expense, eighty-eight Africans are seized
and brought to the surveyor at Darien ; they are demanded by the
Governor's agent. Notwithstanding the knowledge which his excellen
cy had that these very Africans were some weeks within six miles of his
excellency's residence, there was no effort, no stir made by him, his
agents or subordinate state officers, to carry the laws into execution ;
but no sooner was it understood that a seizure had -been effected by an
officer of the United States, than a demand i's made for them ; and it
is not difficult to perceive, that the very aggressors may,1 by a forfeiture
of the mock bond, be again placed in possession of the smuggled prop
erty." In 1817, General David B. Mitchell, Governor of Georgia,
resigned the Executive chair, and accepted the appointment,

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 279
under the Federal Government, of Indian Agent at the Creek
Agency. He was afterwards charged with being concerned, in
the winter of 1817 and 1818, in the illegal importation of Afri
cans. The documents in support of the charge, and those also
which he offered to disprove it, were placed by the President
in the hands of Mr. Wirt, the Attorney-General of the United
States, who, on the 21st of January, 1821, made a report on
the same. From this report, it appears that no less than ninety-
four Africans were smuggled into Georgia, and carried to
Mitchell's residence. Mr. Wirt concludes his report with the
expression of his conviction,
" That Gen. Mitchell is guilty of having prostituted his power as
Agent for Indian Affairs at the Creek Agency, to the purpose of aid
ing and assisting in a conscious breach of the Act of Congress of 1807,
in prohibition of the slave-trade, and this from mercenary motives."*
On the 22d of May, 1817, the Collector at Savannah wrote
to the Secretary of the Treasury :
" I have just received information from a source on which I can im
plicitly rely, that it has already become the practice to introduce into
the State of Georgia, across St. Mary's River, from Amelia Island, E.
Florida, Africans who have been carried into the port of Ferdinanda.
It is further understood that the evil will not be confined altogether to
Africans, but will be extended to the worst class of West India slaves."
Captain Morris, of the Navy, informed the Secretary of the
Navy, 18th of June, 1817 :
" Slaves are smuggled in through the numerous inlets to the west
ward, where the people are but too much disposed to render every possible
assistance. Several hundred slaves are now in Galveston, and persons
have gone from New Orleans to purchase them."
On the 17th of April, 1818, the Collector at New Orleans
wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury :
" No efforts of the officers of the customs alone can be effectual in
preventing the introduction of Africans from the westward : to put a
stop to that traffic, a naval force suitable to those waters is indispensa
ble ; and vessels captured with slaves ought not to be brought into this
port, but to some other in the United States, for adjudication."
* Senate Papers, 1st Session, 17th Cong., No. 93.

280 jay's WORKS.
We may learn the cause of this significant hint, from a com
munication made the 9th of July, in the same year, to the Secre
tary, by the Collector at Nova-Iberia.
" Last summer I got out State warrants, and had negroes seized to
the number of eighteen, which were part of them stolen out of the
custody of the coroner ; the balance were condemned by the District
Judge, and the informers received their part of the net proceeds from
the State Treasurer. Five negroes that were seized about the same
time, were tried at Opelousa in May last, by the same judge. He
decided that some Spaniards that were supposed to have set up a sham
claim, stating that the negroes had been stolen from them on the high
seas, ( ! ! ) should have the negroes, and that the persons who seized
them should pay half the costs, and the State of Louisiana the other.
This decision had such an effect as to render it almost impossible for
me to obtain any assistance in that part of the country""
The Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter to the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, 20th January, 1819, remarked :
" It is understood that proceedings have been instituted under the
State authorities, which have terminated in the sale of persons of color
illegally imported into the States of Georgia and Louisiana, during the
years 1817 and 1818. There is no authentic copy of the acts of the
Legislatures of these States upon this subject in this department, but it
is understood that in both States, Africans and other persons of color,
illegally imported, are directed to be sold for the benefit of the State."*
We have now, we think, proved from high authority, that
notwithstanding the legal prohibition of the slave-trade, the
people, the courts, and the executive authority in the planting
* In 1835, the New York Journal of Commerce asserted that vessels had
been recently fitted out in that port for the African slave-trade.
The Boston Express, of 17th December, 1838, thus gives the substance of
the statements made by Mr. Elliott Cresson, of the Pennsylvania Coloniza
tion Society, in a public address delivered a few days before in Boston :
" Out of 177 slave ships which arrive at Cuba every year, five-sixths are
owned and fitted out from ports in the United States, and the enormous
profits accruing from then- voyages remitted to this country. One house in
New York received lately for its share alone the sum of #250,000. - Baltimore
is largely interested in this accursed traffic as well as New York — and even
Boston, with all her religion and morality, does not disdain to increase her
wealth by a participation in so damnable a business. A gentleman of the
highest respectability lately informed Mr. Cresson that a sailor in this city
told him that he had received several hundred dollars of hush money, to
make him keep silent, and when he mentioned the names of his employers,
the gentleman says he was actually afraid to repeat them, so high do they
stand in society. A captain in the merchant service, from New York, was
lately offered his own terms by two different houses, provided he would under
take a slave voyage."
Of the truth of these statements we know nothing.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 281
States, have afforded facilities for the importation of Africans.
It now becomes important to inquire how far the Federal Gov
ernment has enforced the penalties imposed by the Act forbid
ding the trade.
On the 7th of January, 1819, Joseph Nourse, Register of the
Treasury, in an official document submitted to Congress, certified
that there were no records in the Treasury Department of any
forfeitures under the act of 1807, abolishing the slave-trade I
So that notwithstanding the thirteen or fifteen thousand slaves,
said by Southern members of Congress to be annually smuggled
into the United States — notwithanding American citizens were
declared by a Judge of the Supreme Court to be " steeped to
their very mouths in this stream of iniquity," not one single for
feiture had in eleven years reached the Treasury of the United
States ! Mr. Nourse, however, states that it was understood
that there had been recently two forfeitures, one in South Caro
lina, and the other in Alabama. Respecting the first, we have
no information ; of the latter, we are able to present the follow
ing extraordinary history.
The Collector at Mobile, writing Nov. 15, 1818, to the Secre
tary of the Treasury, remarks :
" Should West Florida be given up to the Spanish authorities, both
the American and Spanish vessels, it is to be apprehended, will be em
ployed in the importation of slaves, with an ultimate destination to this
country ; and even in its present situation, the greatest facilities are
afforded for obtaining slaves from Havana and elsewhere through
West Florida. Three vessels, it is true, were taken in the attempt last
summer, but this was owing rather to accident than any well-timed
arrangement to prevent the trade."
These three vessels brought in one hundred and seven slaves.
By what mistake they were captured we are not informed, but
another letter from the collector shows us how the " accident "
was remedied.
" The vessels and cargoes and slaves have been delivered on bonds ;
the former to the owners, and the slaves to three other persons. The
Grand Jury found true bills against the owners of the vessels, masters
and supercargo, all of whom have been discharged — why or wherefore,
I cannot say, except that it could not be for want of proof against
them."

282 jay's WORKS.
From this letter it is most probable that the forfeiture of which
Mr. Nourse had heard, if any in fact occurred, was the collusive
forfeiture of the bonds.*
We most freely acknowledge that so far as the statute book is
to be received as evidence, there can be no question of the sin
cerity and zeal with which the Federal Government has labored
to suppress the African slave-trade : but laws do not execute
themselves, and we shall now appeal to the statute book, and to
the minutes of Congress, to convict the government of gross
hypocrisy and duplicity.
It is difficult to understand why men who are engaged in
breeding slaves for the market, or why men who are employed
in buying and working slaves, should have any moral or religious
scruples about the African trade ; and when we find political
leaders professing to be ready to sacrifice the Union to secure
the perpetuity of the American trade, we may surely be excused
for doubting the sincerity of their denunciations against Ihe for
eign traffic.
In the year 1817, a new and sudden zeal was excited in Con
gress for the abolition of the trade, and this zeal, as we shall see,
was the offspring of the efforts of Virginia to colonize the free
blacks. The Legislature of that State had for years been anx
ious to get rid, not of the slaves, but of the free negroes. On
the 1st of January, 1817, the Colonization Society, the result of
Virginia policy, was organized at Washington, and immediately
presented a memorial to Congress, praying for national coun
tenance. The committee to whom this memorial was referred,
reported (11th Feb.) two resolutions: — 1st, calling on the
President to enter into negotiations with foreign powers for the
" entire and immediate abolition of the traffic in slaves ; " and
2d, asking him to obtain the consent of Great Britain to our
colonizing free people of color at Sierra Leone. Thus early
was the cause of colonization connected with the agitation in
Congress about the slave-trade ; a connection from which, as we
shall presently see, the Society reaped a very large pecuniary
* The documents we have quoted on this subject, are to be found in Re
ports of Committees. 1st Sess., 21st Cong., No. 348.

ACTION OF THE UEJNEKAL tiUVERNHENT. 283
advantage. The resolutions were not acted on, and the next
session, Mr. Mercer, regarded in Virginia as the father of the
Society, succeeded in getting a vote of the House (Dec. 30th,
1817,) instructing the committee on the memorial from the
Society, to report on the expediency of rendering the laws
against the slave-trade more effectual. Of this committee Mr.
Mercer was himself the chairman ; and he recommended in his
report, that the President should take measures for procuring
suitable territory in Africa for colonizing free people of color,
with their own consent ; and that armed vessels should occasion
ally be sent to Africa for the purpose of interrupting the trade.
The suggestions of the committee were not adopted, but the
ensuing session, (March 3, 1819,) a new act against the slave-
trade was passed, which gave " a local habitation " to the pres
ent colony of Monrovia, and was equivalent to a liberal and
national grant to the Society. By this act, the President was
authorized to restore to their country, such Africans as might be
captured on board of slavers, or illegally introduced into the
United States ; and he was to appoint agents on the coast to
receive them. Mr. Monroe, then President of the United States,
was a zealous colonizationist, and was afterwards placed at the
head of an auxiliary. Let us see what use he made of the
powers entrusted to him by the act of 1819. Many years after,
an inquiry was instituted in Congress as to the experlditures
under this law, and the Secretary of the Navy (1830,) reported
that " Two hundred and fifty-two persons* of this description (recaptured
Africans,) have been removed to the settlement provided by the Colo
nization Society on the coast of Africa ; and that there had been
* We have not been able to ascertain from what sources these Africans
were obtained, but that they were not all of them trophies of the zeal of our
cruisers in the cause of humanity, appears from the following extracts from
official documents : " There are now in the charge of the Marshal of Georgia,
248 Africans, taken out of a South American privateer, the 'General Ramirez,'
whose.crew mutinied, and brought the vessel into St. Mary's, Georgia." Letter
of Secretary of Navy, February 7th, 1821. "A decision of the Supreme Court,
in the case of the ' General Ramirez,' placed under the control of the Gov
ernment from 125 to 130 Africans, who were brought into Georgia, and ar
rangements are making to send them to the Agency." — (Liberia.) Report of
Secretary of Navy, Dec. 2d, 1825.

284 jay's works.
expended therefor, the sum of two hundred and sixty-four thousand
seven hundred and ten dollars. * * * The practice has been to
furnish these persons with provisions for a period of time after being
landed in Africa, varying from six months to one year ; to provide
them with houses, arms and ammunition ; to pay for the erection of
fortifications, for the building of vessels for their use, and, in short, to
render all the aid required for the founding and support of a colonial
establishment." A report from Amos Kendall, Fourth Auditor of the Treas
ury, discloses more particularly the manner in which the "Act
in addition to the Acts prohibiting the slave-trade," was made
subservient to the purposes of the Colonization Society.
" In May, 1822, the Secretary of the Navy directed that te liberated
Africans should be delivered to Mr. J. Ashmun for transportation to
Africa. The Secretary authorized him to take out, at the expense of
the Government, 15,000 hard brick, 5,000 feet of assorted timber, 30
barrels of ship bread, eight of tar, four of pitch, four of rosin, and two
of turpentine." * * * " In the simple grant of power to an agent
to receive recaptured negroes, it requires broad construction to find a
grant of authority to colonize them, to build houses for them, to furnish
them with farming utensils, to pay instructors to teach them, to purchase
ships for their commerce, to build forts for their protection, to supply
them with arms and munitions, and to employ the army and navy in
their defence."*
It cannot be denied that the friends of colonization had great
encouragement to proceed in their warfare against the slave-
trade. Accordingly, Mr. Mercer, as the chairman of the com
mittee to whom a memorial from the Society had been referred,
reported (May 9th, 1820,) a bill incorporating the Society, and
another making the slave-trade piracy ; and likewise two resolu
tions, the first, requesting the President to negotiate with foreign
powers, "on the means of effecting an entire and immediate
abolition of the slave-trade ; " and another requesting him to make
such use of the public armed vessels as may aid the, efforts of
the Colonization Society. The first resolution was adopted, and
the consideration of the other postponed. A few days after,
(May 15th,) the Act making the African slave-trade piratical,
was passed. But laws do not execute themselves : and if any
* Senate Documents, 2Sess., 2 Cong.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 285
slave-trader has suffered death in the United States as a pirate,
we confess our ignorance of the fact.*
It certainly required some little assurance in the House of
Representatives thus to order a negotiation with foreign powers
for the suppression of the trade, when the Federal Government
had itself been so remiss in its efforts, that both Houses of the
British Parliament had, the year before, (July, 1819,) addressed
the Prince Regent, praying him to renew " his beneficent en
deavors, more especially with the Governments of France and
the United States of America, for the effectual attainment of an
object we all profess to have in view : " and a negotiation had
already been actually commenced with our Government, propos
ing to concede " to each other's ships of war, a qualified right
of search, with a power of detaining the vessels of either State,
with slaves actually on board ; " f and a positive refusal to this
proposal had already been returned. There is no evidence that
our Government ever took a single measure in consequence of
this resolution ; and under all the circumstances of the case, it
is not uncharitable to believe that it was intended to save ap
pearances. We must now beg the reader's attention to a new act in this
farce of suppressing the slave-trade.
In 1814, our government concluded a war with Great Britain,
and in the treaty of peace, gave its assent to the following
article :
" Whereas the traffic in slaves is irreconcilable with the principles of
humanity and justice; and whereas His Majesty and the United
* In 1820, a slave vessel, the Science, fitted' out at New York, and" com
manded by Adolphe Lacoste, of Charleston, South Carolina, was captured on
the coast of Africa, by the United States ship Cyane, and Lacoste sent home
for trial. The trial took place in the Circuit Court of the United States,
before Judge Story. The evidence was full and unequivocal ; Lacoste was
convicted, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and to the payment of
a fine of $3,000. Had the crime been committed a few months later, the
penalty would have been death, under the new law, declaring the trade
piracy. Lacoste received a full pardon from the President ; and the reader
may thence judge, whether, had he been convicted as a pirate, his life would
have been much in danger. The reasons assigned for the pardon were youth,
previous good jcharacter, and an aged mother. Niles's Register, April 20,
1822. t Letter from Lord Castlereagh to. Mr. Rush, June 20, 1818.
25

286 jay's works.
States are desirous of continuing their efforts to promote its entire ab
olition, it is hereby agreed, that both the contracting parties shall use
their best endeavors to accomplish so desirable an object."
On the 29th of January, 1823, Mr. Stratford Canning, the
British Minister at Washington, addressed a letter to the Secre
tary of State, reminding him of this pledge, and calling on the
American Government either to assent to the plan proposed by
Great Britain, or to suggest some other efficient one in its place.
After the reception of this letter, and before the return of an
answer, the following resolution was passed (28th Feb.) by the
House of Representatives, viz. :
" Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested
to enter upon and prosecute, from time to time, such negotiations with
the several maritime powers of Europe and America, as he may deem
expedient, for the effectual abolition of the African slave-trade, and its
ultimate denunciation as piracy, under the laws of nations, by the con
sent of the civilized world."
The British Minister was then informed, in answer to his
letter, that the plan proposed by the United States was a mutual
stipulation to annex the penalty of piracy to the offence of par
ticipating in the trade, by the citizens and subjects of the two
parties. Mr. Canning replied, that
" Great Britain desires no other, than that any of her subjects who
so far defy the laws and dishonor the character of their country as to
engage in a trade of blood, proscribed not more by the act of the
Legislature than by the national feeling, should be detected and brought
to justice even by foreign hands, and from under the protection of her
flag." He, nevertheless, urged a limited concession of the right of
search, as the only practical cure of the evil ; and he communi
cated the fact, that so late as January, 1822, it was stated offi
cially by the Governor of Sierra Leone, " that the fine rivers of
Nunez and Pongas were entirely under the control of renegade
European and American slave-traders." He then proposed that
a mutual right of search should be conceded, to be confined to
a fixed number of cruisers on each side ; to be restricted to
certain parts of the ocean ; and that to prevent abuses, these
cruisers should act under regulations prepared by mutual con-

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

287

sent ; and moreover, that this concession should be made only
for a short time, that if found inconvenient in practice, it might
be discontinued.*
But the Republic stood on its dignity, and would not conde
scend to yield a concession which Great Britain, France, Spain,
Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Tuscany, the
Hans Towns, Naples, and Sardinia, have thought it no degrada
tion to make in the cause of humanity.
But still the American Government was very anxious that
every man of every nation, who engaged in the traffic of slaves
on the coast of Africa, (not in the District of Columbia,) should
be hung by the neck till he was dead ; and forthwith, in obedi
ence to the resolution of February 28, despatches were forward
ed to the Cabinets of France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, the
Netherlands, Buenos Ayres, and Colombia, announcing the de
sire of the United States to declare the trade piracy, by the
common consent of nations.
It is generally understood that a pirate is an enemy to the
human race, and may be put to death by any government in
whose hands he may chance to fall. If this was not the purport
of the proposition to the House of Representatives, that the
trade should be denounced "as piracy under the laws of nations,
by the consent of the civilized world," we may well ask, what did
it mean ?
On the 24th of June, 1823, instructions were forwarded to
our Minister in England, authorizing him to conclude a treaty
with Great Britain on the subjcet of the slave-trade, on certain
conditions. " The draft of a convention," says the Secretary of
State, " is herewith enclosed, which, IF the British Government
should agree to treat upon this subject, on the basis of a legisla
tive prohibition of the slave-trade by both parties under the
penalties of piracy, you are authorized to propose and con
clude." Now it should be remembered that at this time the trade was
not piratical by the British laws, and the English Ministry could
not make it so by treaty. "JVe therefore proposed a condition
¥ Letter from Mr. Stratford Canning, to the Secretary of State, April 18,
1823.

288 jay's works.
with which possibly they might not have it in their power to
comply. The ministry, however, when made acquainted with
the condition, felt confident of the acquiescence of Parliament.
" The British Plenipotentiaries," says Mr. Rush, in his letter to
the Secretary of State, " gave their unhesitating" consent to the
principle of denouncing the traffic as piracy, provided we could
arrive at a common mind on all the other parts of the plan
proposed." The treaty, nearly verbatim with the draft sent from Wash
ington, was signed at London on the 13th of March, 1824 ; and
a few days afterwards, according to a previous understanding,
and in fulfilment of the condition exacted by us, Parliament
passed an act, declaring that all British subjects found guilty of
slave-trading " shall suffer death without benefit of clergy, and
loss of lands, goods and chattels, as pirates, felons and robbers
upon the. seas, ought to suffer."
This treaty provided, in substance, that the cruisers of either
party on the coast of Africa, America, and the West Indies,
may seize slaves under the flag of the other, and send them
home to the country to which they belonged, where they should
be proceeded against as pirates. So that in fact, the whole con
cessit made by us to Great Britain amounted to no more than
permitting her to arrest our pirates, and to deliver them to our
courts for trial ; and in return, she granted us precisely the same
right with respect to her pirates.
The treaty was submitted of course to the Senate for ratifica
tion, which, under the circumstances of the case, one would
think, must have followed as a matter of course. The Senate,
however, thought otherwise. The treaty was laid before them
on the 30th of April ; but as they delayed to- act upon it, the
British Minister at Washington became uneasy, and on the 1 6th
of May addressed a letter to the Secretary of State, complain
ing of the postponement of the ratification, especially as the
project of the convention had originated with the United States,
and as Great Britain " had not hesitated an instant to comply
with the preliminary act desired by the President," the legisla
tive prohibition of the slave-trade under the penalties of piracy-

action op the general government. 289
The President naturally feeling his own good faith comprom-
itted by the hesitation of the Senate, now sent them a confiden
tial message, urging the ratification of the treaty. He remarked
that the rejection of the treaty would subject the Executive,
Congress, and the nation,
" To the charge of insincerity respecting the great result of the final
suppression of the slave-trade. To invite all nations, with the statute
of piracy in our hands, to adopt its principles as the law of nations, and
yet to deny to all the common rights of search for the pirate, whom it
would be impossible to detect without entering and searching the ves
sels, would expose us not simply to the charge of inconsistency."
The Senate, after long debates, finally ratified the treaty, in a
mutilated form. They struck out the word " America," in the
clause authorizing the seizure of slavers on " the coasts of Af
rica, America, and the West Indies." They also expunged the
articles applying the provision of the treaty to vessels chartered,
as well as owned by the citizens or subjects of either party ; and
to the citizens or subjects of either party carrying on the trade
under foreign flags ; and they added an article authorizing
either party to terminate the treaty at any time, on giving six
months' notice.
It will have been observed, from the documents we have
quoted, that the slaves imported into the United States, have
been chiefly introduced through the Spanish possessions on our
southern frontiers, slavers direct from Africa rarely having the
hardihood to enter our ports, and discharge the cargoes ; while
small vessels from the West Indies have occasionally found
their way into the southern waters. Of course the treaty as
altered by the Senate, would afford but little interruption to this
mode of stocking Jhe plantations of Louisiana and the neigh
boring States.
As chartered vessels were excepted, our traders would only
have to hire slavers instead of owning them, to be exempted
from the hazard of being arrested and sent home for trial, by
British officers ; or even if on board their own vessels, by run
ning up a foreign flag, they would escape the penalties of piracy.
25*

290 jay's works.
The British Cabinet refused to agree to the treaty thus
despoiled of all its efficiency ; but with wonderful simplicity, they
proposed to restrict the right of search on the coast of America,
to the coast of the southern States. This proposition was of
course promptly rejected by our Minister in England.
The British Government, vainly cherishing the hope that the
United States might still consent to some combined effort to
destroy a trade they professed to abhor, offered, through their
Minister at Washington, to consent to a treaty, word for word
the same as the one the Senate had ratified, with the single ex
ception of restoring the word " America." To this, Mr. Clay,
then Secretary of State, replied, that
"From the views entertained by the Senate, it would seem unneces
sary and inexpedient any longer to continue the negotiation respecting
the slave convention, with any hope that it can assume a form satisfac
tory to both parties. That a similar convention had been formed with
Colombia, on the 10th of December, 1824, excepting that the coast of
America was excepted from its operation ; and yet, notwithstanding
this conciliatory feature, the Senate had by a large majority refused to
ratify it." *
Negotiations have since been renewed on this subject; and
France has united with Great Britain, in urging the Cabinet at
Washington to cooperate with them in putting an end to the
African slave-trade. The correspondence has not been made
public, but we learn from the Edinburgh Review, for July, 1836,
that the final answer of the American Government is, that
" Under no condition, in no form, and with no restriction, will the
United Stales enter into any convention, or treaty, or combined efforts of
any sort or kind with other nations, for the suppression of this trade."
To our readers we leave the task of making their own com
ments on this history of duplicity and hypocrisy ; and proceed
to other details.
On the 2d of November, 1825, the Colombian Minister at
Washington, in the name of his government, invited the United
States to send delegates to a Congress of the South American
* The documents quoted on this subject, maybe found in the State Papers
1st Sess., 19 Cong., vol, 1 ; and in Reports of Committees, 1st Sess 21
Cong., vol. 3, No. 348. "

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 291
Republics, to be held at Panama. In enumerating the topics
to be discussed in the proposed Congress, he remarked :
" The consideration of means to be adopted for the entire abolition
of the African slave-trade, is a subject sacred to humanity, and interest
ing to the policy of the American States. To effect it, their energetic,
general and uniform cooperation is desirable. At the proposition of
the United States, Colombia made a convention with them on this sub
ject, which has not been ratified by the Government of the United States.
Would that America, which does not think politic what is unjust, might
contribute in union, and with common consent, to the good of Africa ! "
This document was submitted to the Senate, and on the 16th
of January, 1826, a committee of the Senate made a report in
relation to it, in which they observe :
" The United States have not certainly the right, and ought never to
feel the inclination to dictate to others who may differ with them on
this subject," (the slave-trade,) " nor do the committee see the expedi
ency of insulting other States by ascending the moral chair, and pro
claiming from thence mere abstract principles, of the rectitude of which
each nation enjoys the perfect right of deciding for itself."
The remarks made on this occasion by Mr. White, a Senator
from Tennessee, are worthy of observation.
" In these new States (the South American Republics,) some of them
have put it down in their fundamental law, ' that whoever owns a slave
shall cease to be a citizen.' Is it then fit that the United States should
disturb the quiet of the southern and western States upon any subject
connected with slavery ? I think not. Can it be the desire of any
prominent politician in the United States, to divide us into parties upon
the subject of slavery ? I hope not. Let us then cease to talk about
slavery in this House ; let us cease to negotiate upon any subject con
nected with it."
We have seen most abundantly that slave-holders have no
objection to talk about slavery in Congress, or to negotiate about
it with foreign nations, when the object is to guard their beloved
institution from danger. It is only on the abominations of the
system, and the means of removing it, that every tongue must
be mute, and the Federal Government passive. As that gov
ernment refuses to enter into any combined efforts for the sup
pression of this trade, and makes none of its own, we may
reasonably suppose that our citizens are now largely engaged in
it. Let us see if this supposition accords with facts.

292 jay's works.
PRESENT PARTICIPATION OP CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES
IN THE AFRICAN SLAVE-TRADE.
In pursuance of a treaty with Spain, certain commissioners
are appointed by Great Britain to reside at Havana. On the
25th of October, 1836, these commissioners wrote to their
government :
" To our astonishment and regret, we have ascertained that the Ana
conda and Viper, the one on the 6th, and the other on the 10th, current,
cleared out and sailed from here for the Cape de Verd Islands under
the American flag. These two vessels arrived at the Havana, fitted
in every particular for the slave-trade, and took on board a cargo
which would alone have condemned as a slaver, any vessel belonging
to the nations that are parties to the equipment article."
They remark that the declaration of the American President
not to make the United States a party to any convention on the
subject of the slave-trade,
" Has been the means of inducing American citizens to build and fit
in their ports vessels only calculated for piracy, or the slave-trade — to
enter this port, and in concert with the Havana slave-traders, to take
on board a prohibited cargo, manacles, &c, and proceed openly to that
notorious depot for this iniquitous traffic, the Cape de Verd Island,
under shelter of the national flag ; and we may add, that while these
American slavers were making their final arrangements for de
parture, the Havana was visited more than once by American ships of
war." This statement and others we are are about to present to the
reader, explain the practical results, and probably the secret mo
tives of the rejection by the Senate of the slave-trade convention
with Great Britain. The commissioners proceed :
" Two American vessels, the Fanny Butler and Eosanna, have pro
ceeded to the Cape de Verd Islands and the coast of Africa, under the
American flag, upon the same inhuman speculation. * * * We
Cannot conceal our deep regret at the new and dreadful impetus
imparted to the slave-trade of this island, by the manner in which some
American citizens impunibly violate every law, by embarking openly
for the coast of Africa under their national flag, with the avowed
purpose of bringing slaves to this market. We are likewise assured
that it is intended, by means of this flag, to supply slaves for the vast

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. " 293
province of Texas ; agents from there being in constant communica
tion with the Havana slave merchants."*
We are fearful of trespassing upon the patience of the reader
while we enter into the details necessary to demonstrate the
increased activity given to the trade by the action of the Federal
Government ; but these details are essential to an exhibition of
the horrible duplicity of the government, and the foul disgrace in
which the flag of the Republic is steeped, by being made the
regis of the very wretches whom our legislators pretend to regard
as pirates.
We learn from Buxton's late work on the present state of the
trade, that
" The Venus, said to be sharpest clipper built vessel ever constructed
at Baltimore, left that place in July, 1838, and arrived at Havana on
the 4th of the August following. She sailed from thence in September
for Mozambique ; there she took a cargo of slaves, being all this time
under the flag of the United States. On the 7th of January, 1839, she
landed 860 negroes near Havana under Portuguese colors" p. 23.
In certain documents, lately published by the British Parlia
ment we have the names of eleven vessels, which sailed under
the flag of the United States, from Havana to Africa for slaves
in 1837, and of nineteen more, which sailed in 1838. Major
McGregor, special magistrate for the Bahamas, in a letter to
Mr. Buxton mentions the wreck of the schooner Invincible, a
slaver, on the 28th of October, 1837, and adds :
" The captain's name was Potts, a native of Florida. The vessel
was fitted out at Baltimore in America, and three-fourths of the crew
were natives of the United States, although they pretended to be only-
passengers." The major also mentions another slaver, with a cargo of 160
Africans, being wrecked on one of the islands, and says :
" This pretended Portuguese vessel was fitted out at Baltimore,
United States, having been formerly a pilot boat, called the Wash
ington. The supercargo was an American citizen of Baltimore,'
pp. 23, 186. * Buxton's African Slave Trade, p. 21.

294 Jay's Works.
Mr. Mitchel Thompson, an officer on board the British ship-
of-war Sappho, thus wrote at Jamaica in the spring of 1839, to
a gentleman of Philadelphia :
" Almost half the vessels employed in this trade and furnished to
either the Spaniards or the Portuguese are from America, and seem to
have been built at Baltimore, from which place they sail chartered for
some port in Cuba with lumber; which lumber is converted into
slave-decks on their arrival at the destined port. To this is now added
copper, casks, and food, with the necessery slave irons ; and now also is
added the requisite number of Spaniards as part complement of the
ship's company ; with American papers and flag, they escape our cruis
ers, as the concession of the right of mutual search has not been made by
America." A recent letter from an officer of the British ship-of-war
Pelican, pubhshed in the London papers, mentions that this ship
had lately captured an American schooner, the Octavia of
Baltimore, with 220 slaves.
The editor of the Baltimore Chronicle states that Captain
McDonald, of the brig North, just arrived from Africa, reported
that the Captain of the British brig of war Partaga, told him
in [conversation, that they had fallen in with several vessels
which had the appearance of being slavers, but having American
colors and papers furnished by the Consul at- Havana, 'he had to
let them pass ; but afterwards he fell in with them with slaves
on board, that being proof positive of their true character.-
Mr. Buchanan, Governor of Liberia, in a letter written from
the colony, and published in the New York Journal of Com
merce of July 6, 1839, says :
" Never was the American flag so extensively used by those
pirates upon liberty and humanity as at present. Probably three-
fourths of the vessels boarded by the English cruisers and found to
be slavers are protected by American papers and the American
flag.*

* The American and Russian flag bear very different relations towards the
African slave-trade. On the 2d of April, 1836, the Russian Consul in New
York, published in the papers, by special instructions from his Government,
a " Consular Notice," in which he declared that " no slave-trader, in any
circumstances whatever, when seized uuder the Russian fag, or otherwise,
Gan invoke the aid of the Imperial Government to screen him /from just and
well-merited punishment."

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 295
In the spring of 1839, three American slavers were captured
by British cruisers, and carried into Sierra Leone. They were
the Clara, Wyoming, and Eagle, and all under American cap
tains, and furnished with American papers. They had no
slaves on board, but were fitted up for the trade, having slave-
decks, manacles, &c, &c.
At Sierra Leone it was decided that the English courts had
no jurisdiction over these vessels, and of course that their cap
ture was unauthorized. But inasmuch as the character of the
vessels was obvious, and they were engaged in a trade declared
piratical by the American Congress, it was deemed both prudent
and friendly to send them home for trial, and they arrived at
New York in June last, under the charge of a British ship-
of-war. A more unwelcome present could not have been
offered to the Federal Government than these three slavers.
An acceptance of them would have involved various inconve
nient consequences. In the first place the President would have
been compelled, by a due regard to the feelings of his southern
constituents, to inquire by what authority British officers had
presumed to arrest these ships, interrupt their voyages, and
transport them across the Atlantic, contrary to the known and
recorded will of the Senate of the United States. This would
have led to an embarrassing negotiation, and likewise to a very
undesirable discussion in the newspapers, and would probably
have strengthened the' hostility at the North to slavery and the
slave-trade. If, on the other hand, the government acqui
esced in this treatment of American slavers, then our courts
would be occupied in trials in which it would be impossible to
avoid touching upon " the delicate subject," and men might be
sentenced to the gallows, merely for buying and selling their
fellow-men. It would moreover be permitting Great Britain to
do without a treaty what she had entreated us to permit her to
do by treaty, and which we had refused. An expedient was
was adopted which avoided these embarrassments. The Gov
ernment, it is said, thought proper not to recognize these ships as
American property, and therefore declined receiving them. By
this course all pubhc judicial investigations and disclosures were

296 jay's works.
prevented ; and the whole matter was hushed up as quickly as
possible. The avowed reasons for this decision have not been
made public.
We will now recall to the recollection of our readers the re
mark of the British commissioners, that " while the American
slavers were making their final arrangements for departure, the
Havana was visited more than once by American ships-of-war."
In other words our naval officers showed no disposition to arrest
^uch of their countrymen as were engaged in the slave-trade,
and to send them home for trial and punishment. It no doubt
seems very strange to foreigners that the American navy should
be so exceedingly remiss in seconding the zeal of the Federal
Government in suppressing the slave-trade — but it is a trite
remark that foreigners cannot understand our institutions — the
conduct of the navy is perfectly natural, and precisely such as
might rationally be expected. We have no knowledge of any
slaver having been molested by an American armed vessel for
the last fifteen years. Itis not necessary for our cruisers to go to
Africa to capture slavers. The trade passes our very doors,
and slavers are to be found by those ivho look for them off the port
of Baltimore, and along the shores of Cuba and Texas.
The New York Journal of Commerce, speaking of the seizure
of slavers by British cruisers, remarks :
" The capture of a slaver by an American cruiser is a thing unheard
of for many years, and wholly unexpected. Scores of slave-vessels
are caught every year by British cruisers, and we will not do our
national vessels the injustice to suppose that they never could catch
any, if they were so disposed."
But why should they be " so disposed ? " About one-half of
our naval officers are the sons of slave-holders, and can we ex
pect that they will voluntarily assist in bringing men to the
gibbet for trading in African savages, while their own fathers
are engaged in buying and selling their fellow-countrymen ?
Again, pecuniary reward, professional promotion, and pubhc
applause, are the chief incentives to military enterprise. Our
officers have been recently taught that efforts to capture or de
stroy fugitive slaves will be liberally rewarded from the national
treasury ; but when have they been paid for capturing slavers ?

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 297
It is natural that" our young and ardent officers should pant
for promotion, and that they should turn their anxious and ex
pectant gaze upon the dispenser of professional favors, the Sec
retary of the Navy. Should they read this gentleman's
work, " Slavery in the United States," they will have little hope
of getting into his good graces by any exhibition of zeal against
the African slave-trade. They will learn from the head of the
naval department, that the introduction of negro slaves into our
country was in " accordance with the sanction of holy writ, as
conveyed in the twenty -fifth chapter of Leviticus," p. 42 ; and
they will be led to infer the benevolent tendency of the traffic
from the following authoritative declaration of the innocency
and happiness of slavery itself.
" That slavery is a great moral evil, or that its existence or continu
ance detracts one tittle, one atom from the happiness of the slaves, our
own experience and observation directly contradict," p. 126.
We presume Mr. Paulding alludes to the experience and
observation acquired in his intercourse with coffle-drivcrs during
his excursion in 1816. Our officers are moreover instructed by
the Secretary, that although
" The white and black races of men are probably the nearest to each
other of all these varieties (animals with similar instincts), they are not
homogeneous any more than the orang-outang, the ape, the baboon,
and the monkey, who possibly may ere long find a new sect of phi
lanthropists to sustain their claim to amalgamation," p. 271.
But should our officers inquire how far public opinion would
justify and commend them for breaking up the voyages of
American merchants, seizing their vessels, and exposing their
commanders and crews to an infamous death, what answer would
be returned by facts ?
The editor of the New York Journal of Commerce declared,
in his paper of 20th June, 1835 :
" We pledge ourselves to prove, to the satisfaction of the Presiden t
or Secretary of War, that slave-ships have, within the past year, been
actually fitted out at the port of New York."
Has the Secretary of War, the President, or any grand jury
called on the editor to redeem his pledge ?
26

298 jay's works.
The New Orleans Courier of May 21, 1839, after comment
ing on the present extent of the African slave-trade, remarks :
" If such have been the results produced by the injudicious efforts
of the English philanthropists, we may well doubt the policy of the law
of Congress which has prohibited the importation of slaves from Afri
ca, — a policy, that by all we can learn, has no other effect than to
cause the planter of Louisiana to pay to the Virginia slave-holder one
thousand dollars for a negro which now in Cuba, and by-and-by in
Texas, may be bought for half the money. It is known to those
acquainted with the character of the African, that he is more patient
and less unruly than the Virginia or Maryland negro — his very ignor
ance of many things makes him less dangerous in a community like
ours, and his constitution is better suited to our climate. In transport
ing him from his own country, his position too in civilization is bettered,
not worsted.
" The more we examine and reflect on the policy the Texans are
likely to pursue in this matter, openly or covertly, the more we are
convinced that Texas should be annexed to the Union, or else Congress
should repeal the law prohibiting ihe importation of slaves from Africa.
Otherwise the culture of sugar and cotton in Louisiana will suffer
greatly by the cheaper labor which the planters of Cuba and Texas
can and will employ."
Here we find a public and cold-blooded proposal to reopen
the African slave-trade. And was this proposal received with
horror by the public ? Alas ! even the northern press has
scarcely condemned it. Multitudes of our papers have not
noticed it — others have republished the article without a single
remark, and the " New York Express," a leading Whig and
commercial journal, introduces the diabolical proposal to its
readers as " The following interesting comments of the New Or
leans Courier." Openly to approve the proposal, might offend
some fanatical subscribers — openly to condemn it, might injure
the Whig party at the South.
The New York " Courier and Enquirer," another Whig and
commercial journal, contained (July 27, 1839,) the following
editorial :
" Rio Janeiro papers have reached us to the 31st of May last. The
chief information from Brazil, which they contain of interest here, is
that of the capture of two vessels under Portuguese colors by a British
ship-of-war, shortly after leaving Rio, on suspicion that they were fitted
out for the slave-trade. We are not astonished that these captures
should have excited much indignation to Rio. Whatever may be

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 299
thought of the trade itself, the people generally are engaged in it and
interested in its success, and it is asking a little too much of them to
remain quiet while foreign vessels enter their harbor, take in provi
sions, remain there as long as it suits their purpose, and then sally forth,
break up their enterprises, and bring back their property to be con
demned under their very noses."
This appeared shortly after the three American slavers, cap
tured by British cruisers, had been sent into New York — hence
the indignation of the editor — hence the news from Rio was
" of interest " in New York. It is excessively impudent in the
English to take it for granted that the laws of the United States
and Brazil against the trade, were enacted in good faith. It
matters not that Brazil had declared the trade piracy, • — and
that the cruisers only delivered to the Brazilian government
their own pirates. The Brazilian people, like our own, are en
gaged in the trade and interested in its success, and it is a great
outrage for foreigners to interfere !
Let the officers of our navy learn from this, not to break up
the enterprise of our merchants, and to bring back their property
to be condemned under their very noses.

RENEWED ACTION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN BEHALF
OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY.
We have already seen the character and extent of the aid
afforded by the Government to the Colonization Society under
pretence of providing for recaptured Africans. Some of the
southern members of Congress, not fully understanding the true
tendency of this Society, and believing its influence hostile to
slavery, objected to this aid on constitutional grounds, and it was
discontinued, after an expenditure of $264,000. That the So
ciety is now more justly estimated appears from the following
recent testimonies in its behalf.
On the 10th of January, 1839, Mr. Henry Wise, a menfber
of Congress from Virginia, delivered an address before the
Colonization Society of that State. He remarked that a few
years since he became suspicious of the Society, in consequence

300 jay's WORKS.
of the sentiments avowed by some of its members. That he
had before that time been " the zealous and active friend and
advocate of the great original principles of the design, to secure
and fortify the institution of slavery itself by colonizing the free
people of color ; " but he confesses that " the line of demarca
tion is now too strongly drawn between abolition and colonization
ever to be crossed. Their principles are diametrically opposed
to each other, and their warfare will tend to press each to occu
py its appropriate ground and position. The Colonization So
ciety must now maintain that great original principle upon which
it was founded, "friendship to the slave-holder."
In the month previous to the delivery of this speech, the
Baldwin (Alabama) Colonization Society issued an address
recommending colonization,
" Because it proposes to remove from among us a degraded, useless,
and vicious race.
" Because we consider the measure of all others best calculated to
preserve good order and proper discipline among our slaves.
" Therefore we deem the plan of removing them (free blacks) from
the United States, the most effectual method of counteracting the
abolitionists. It is known that they are the most violent opponents
which the scheme of colonization has to encounter. Their penetration
has discovered its tendency, and they denounce it as a scheme origin
ating among slave-holders for the perpetuation of slavery. . ...
"Nor should it be forgotten, that it (Africa,) is the natural home of
the negro race, and at a safe distance, whence they can never return to
the injury of our slave population." African Repository for March,
1839. Thus we see that the Society is now regarded as a friend and
ally by. both descriptions of slave-holders, the breeders and the
planters. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Van Buren is an
inattentive observer of the signs of the times. Colonization is
just now very popular in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Missis
sippi; and Louisiana. Mr. Clay's speech was delivered on the
7th of February, and was certainly calculated to propitiate the
slave-holders. He is, moreover, President of the Colonization
Society, and it would be unwise to suffer him to engross the
influence of " the most effectual method of counteracting the
abolitionists." On the 19th of February, twelve days after Mr.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 301
Clay's speech, the intentions of the government were announced
in the following letter, which was widely circulated.
" I ought here to inform you that the government of the United
States has came to our aid by furnishing cannon, small arms, both
muskets, pistols, swords and rockets, and an abundant supply of am
munition, and two fine boats — also made our governor their agent for
recaptured Africans (!) at a salary of $1500 a year, which is so much
money bestowed on the Society ; and I confidently believe that a ship-
of-war will be sent to the coast of Africa to suppress ihe slave-trade.
There never was a time when African colonization had so strong claims
on the benevolent public. Respectfully yours,
Samuel Wilkinson,
General Agent of the American Col. Soc"
Thus, while Mr. Clay can only make speeches in behalf of
the great antidote to abolition, his rival is lavishing upon it the
public funds under the palpably false pretence of providing for
recaptured Africans. When it is recollected that our navy
recaptures no Africans, and that if we had any such Africans to
restore to their own country, they might be sent to Liberia in
the regular vessels at a trifling expense, it must, we think, be
admitted that these appropriations to the Colonization Society,
and this addition of $1500 per annum to the salary of their
governor, is a fraudulent application of the public money, to
promote the interests of slave-holders and the perpetuity of
slavery. There are still many at the North who view the African
slave-trade with abhorrence, and great pains have been taken
to impress them with the belief that the colonization of Ameri
can negroes upon the African coast, is the " only efficient
means of suppressing it." Here Mr. Van Buren's bounty to
the Society is regarded as his contribution to the destruction of
this commerce. The New York Journal of Commerce affirms
that the late grants " will have an important influence in check
ing the slave-trade."
African negroes, we well know, sell every slave exported
from that continent ; we have the testimony of Mr. Madison,
that the white citizens of the Southern States would not have
entered the American Union, had they not been indulged
26*

302 jay's WORKS.
in the African trade for twenty years ; and, even now, many of
them are anxious for its restoration. But American negroes
transported to Africa, will put to the blush the civilization, and
Christianity, and chivalry of the South, and will manfully resist
the temptation to which multitudes of our own citizens readily
yield, of making merchandise of their fellow-men ! Do we seek
to solve this enigma by a reference to the moral character of our
free negroes ? Mr. Clay, the President of the Society, assures
us that they are, "of all descriptions of our population, the
most corrupt, depraved and abandoned ; " and Mr. Mercer, a
vice president, pronounces them " a horde of miserable people
— the objects of universal suspicion — subsisting by plunder."
So far from the Liberian colony being a restraint on the slave-
trade, it will become a rendezvous for slavers, and the colonists
themselves will be either their victims or factors. We cannot
spare room for all the reasons on which this opinion is founded.
Let the following facts suffice.
" The Liberia Herald -mentions the capture of three Spanish slavers,
by the British brig Curlew, while lying within the harbor of Monrovia."
African Repository for March, 1836.
" Boats have been sent from the Spanish slavers into the St. Paul's,
and slaves have been bought in that river." Letter from the Governor of
Liberia, 8th of January, 1836. Afr. Rep.
The St. Paul's penetrates the heart of the colony, and the
settlements of Caldwell and Millsburg are on its banks !
" Within a year, four slave factories have been established
almost within sight of the colony." Captain Nicholson's report to Sec
retary of the Navy, 8th January, 1837.
" To-morrow, the schooner sails for New Sestos, to take on board a
cargo of slaves which I have ready there. I have been obliged to have
one hundred sets of shackles made at Cape Mesurada " — (Monrovia.)*
Intercepted letter of 28th September, 1838, from the captain of a slaver
to his owners at Havana, and published by British Parliament.
" On the 15th of February, 1838, arrived at this port, a vessel under
American colors named the Monrovia, last from Liberia, with a bill
of sale and list of crew from the collector of that colony. This vessel
had neither register nor a sea letter. I have ascertained, without
* This letter is dated at Little Bassa, in Liberia, and between Monrovia
and Cape Palmas.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 303
doubt, that she is a vessel belonging to Don Pedro Blanco,* ot the
Gallinas, has put in here, directed to his agent, for a fit-out for the
coast, and that a cargo of slaves is ready for her. There is a black
man on board, for a flag captain — speaks English well — learned that
he is a complete pilot on board to all the inlets between Sierra Leone
and Gambia. He cannot read or write.
" Don Pedro Blanco's agent in Liberia is J. N. Lewis, commission
merchant." Letter of February 28th, 1838, from British Consul for the
Cape de Verd Islands, to Lord Palmerston. British Documents.

INTERCOURSE OF THE GOVERNMENT WITH THE INDIANS MADE
SUBSERVIENT TO SLAVERY.
It has been long customary, in every treaty of peace, after an
Indian war, to insert an article for the surrender of prisoners,
" white or black," or of " all citizens of the United States, white
inhabitant or negroes." It is doubtful whether the southern
Indians, in their wars, made any slaves prisoners, strictly speak
ing. Servitude with the Indians is so much lighter than with
the planters, that the slaves are ever ready to exchange Chris
tian for heathen masters ; and many of them have embraced the
opportunity, afforded by Indian wars, of escaping from the
" quarters," and seeking refuge in the wigwam.
In 1802, Congress passed a law whereby the government
assumed the obligation of indemnifying the citizens for all rob
beries and trespasses they might suffer from the Indians ; and
the amount of the indemnification was to be deducted from the
annuities or other moneys which might be due from the govern
ment to the Indians. The treaty stipulation to restore negroes
was nugatory in practice, as the Indians felt probably no dispo
sition to execute it. Still the stipulation imposed an obligation,
and laid the foundation of a claim on the part of the govern
ment. These introductory remarks will aid the reader in com
prehending the extraordinary and iniquitous transaction we
shall now proceed to unfold.
On the 8th of January, 1821, a treaty was concluded at
Indian Springs, between the United States and the Creek
nation. The federal negotiators were D. M. Forney, of North
* A notorious slave merchant, connected with a house in Havana.

304 jay's WORKS.
Carolina, and David Meriwether, of Georgia. By this treaty
the United States purchased certain lands belonging to the
Creeks. The consideration for these lands was two-fold ; first a
certain sum of money, and secondly, the following stipulation
in the words of the treaty :
" And as a further consideration for said cession, the United States
do hereby agree to pay the State of Georgia, whatever balance may be
found due by the Creek nation, to the citizens of that State, whenever
the same shall be ascertained in conformity with reference made by
the Commissioners of Georgia, and the chiefs, headmen, and warriors
of the Creek nation, to be paid in five annual instalments, without
interest, provided the same shall not exceed the sum of $250,000, the
Commissioners of Georgia exeouting to the Creek nation a full and
final relinquishment of all claims of the citizens of Georgia against the
Creek nation, for property taken or destroyed PRIOR to the Act of
Congress, of one thousand eight hundred and two, regulating the inter
course with the Indian tribes." See Treaty, Laws of U. S. — Glh Vol.
p. 771.
For whatever trespasses the Georgians had suffered from the
Creeks since 1802, they had been compensated by the Federal
Government. An opportunity was now offered for wringing
from these poor and ignorant savages, compensation for every
alleged injury committed by them from the first settlement of
the country up to the year 1802 ! They were about to sell their
lands, and were made to believe that they were answerable for
every pig and calf which they or their ancestors had ever stolen
from their pale-faced neighbors. The Georgians, however,
kindly agreed that they would not demand more than $250,000 ;
and the United States most benevolently stipulated, that if the
Georgians would give the Creeks a receipt in full, that then,
whatever balance should be foithd due on these claims, should
be paid out of the national treasury; this stipulation being
expressly declared to be part of the consideration given for the
land, it is therefore obvious, that $250,000 of the consideration
or price of the land was withheld by the United States, where
with to liquidate " whatever balance," not exceeding that sum,
might be found due to the Georgians. This is certainly one of
the most extraordinary treaties in the annals of diplomacy.
The claims to be paid are all undefined, and unlimited as to

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 305
time, except that no one can be of a shorter standing than twenty
years ! And these ancient and undescribed claims, after laying
dormant for twenty years, are now to be paid for by a set of poor
half-famished Indians, who can neither read nor write — paid
for, too, out of the price which the Federal Government is
pleased to allow them for their lands ; and this compulsory pay
ment and virtual robbery are disguised under the form of a
treaty, to which the Indians are required to attach their marks.
Among ourselves, contracts and debts cannot ordinarily be en
forced after six years ; but no statute of limitations is permitted
to ayail the helpless tenant of the forest. When claims between
white men are to be liquidated by a tribunal, each party is heard
in his own behalf; but in the present case, a commissioner, ap
pointed by the President, heard the allegations of the Georgians
only, and awarded them what sums he thought proper, from
funds honestly belonging to the Creeks.
The testimony offered by the Georgians has not been pub
lished, but we may readily believe it was of a character accord
ing with the whole transaction. The award was communicated
to Congress,* and we extract from it the following summary of
allowance for slaves, alleged to have been killed or stolen by
the Creeks, viz. :
In the year 1799, 2 slaves,  $800
1780, 1 »  300
1781, 3 «  1100
1782, 2 «  750
1784, 2 "  1,000
1788,49 «  V  17;600
1 "ghl"  250
1 " negro woman killed,"  325
1 789, 8 slaves,  2,320
1 " negro boy,"  400
1790—1801, 21 slaves,  7,950
Total>  91 slaves,  $32,795
This statement gives rise to various reflections. We observe,
in the first place, that through the agency of the Federal Gov
ernment, a Georgia slave-holder recovers from the Indians
* State papers, 1 Sess., 20 Cong., H. of R., Vol. vii, Doc. 268,

306 jay's works.
$800, for two slaves who had escaped from him or his ancestors
forty years before ! The enormous valuation of these slaves
also deserves notice. It seems, slaves are supposed to have
been worth, in 1779, when there was no sugar nor cotton culti
vation in Georgia, nor man-market in New Orleans, and at a
time when the whole State was overrun with foreign troops, and
its cities in possession of the enemy, four hundred dollars a
head, — double the price they commanded after the peace.
From the dates of these several claims, we may form some
idea of the nature of the testimony by which they were sup
ported. Of eye-witnesses, it is scarcely possible there could
have been one — of family traditions, guesses, and assertions,
there was, no doubt, abundance. It must not be supposed the
Creeks had to pay for negroes only. In the Indian wars occur
ring between 1779 and 1802, the Georgians lost various other
chattels, for which compensation was allowed on the same liberal
scale. How the value of a Georgia calf or pig, forty years
before, was ascertained, we are not informed ; but probably by
the same process by which it was discovered, that in 1789 a
"negro boy" was worth $400. But whatever was the road
travelled by the United States Commissioners, they arrived at
the conclusion that the Creeks owed the Georgians, for property
taken or destroyed, negroes included, $101,319. This sum,
deducted from the $250,000 retained by the Government, left a
balance of $148,681.
Can the reader doubt for a moment to whom this balance
justly belonged ? A certain value was of course set upon the
land purchased of the Creeks ; a portion of that value was paid
in money, and as a " further consideration," the United States
assumed the payment of the Georgia claims to the amount of
$250,000. Had there been no claims, the money reserved
would of course have belonged to the Creeks. But if the extent
of the claims was grossly exaggerated, and the Indians were made
to believe they owed more than double the real amount, can
there be a question, that on every principle of honor and equity
the balance left belonged to the Creeks ? Thus thought the
Creeks, and they accordingly petitioned Congress for this bal-

action of the general government. 307
ance, as due to them in part payment for their lands ;* but
Congress thought differently, and not one cent was ever restored
to them.
The Georgians who had been so lucky as to have ancestors
who had lost cows, horses, and negroes in the Lidian wars, now
cast a wistful eye upon this balance. True it was, their anti
quated claims had been settled in a manner agreed to by them
selves, and receipts in full had been given, and most extravagant
compensation had been awarded to them. But still, here was
about $150,000, which most certainly did not belong to the
Government — and as to paying it to Indians, why that was out
of the question ; and so they modestly asked for it themselves.
Their petition was referred to the Committee on Indian affairs ;
and on the 7th of January, 1834, its chairman, Mr. Gilmer, a
representative from Georgia, reported in favor of the petitioners.
He contended that the claimants were entitled, not merely to the
value of the property taken, but also to compensation for being
deprived of its use.
" A careful examination," proceeds the report, " of the merits of the
claims, founded on the increase oi the female slaves which were taken
and carried away by those Indians, would, it is believed, lead to a simi
lar result. Those who are at all conversant with the considerations
which form the criterion by which the value of slave property is esti
mated, know that a much higher value is set on a female slave, in con
sequence of an anticipation of increase. Therefore, as the claimant
whose female slave was taken by those Indians, and carried away, had a
property in expectancy in the issue of such female slave, principles of
common sense and common justice would award to the rightful owner
a restitution of such increase, or an equivalent in lieu thereof."!
People at the North may sometimes count their chickens be
fore they are hatched ; but it would have been a still more
occult operation for Congress to have calculated the market
value, in 1834, of the children which might have been born of
the " negro woman killed " in 1788 ; and Mr. Gilmer himself
admitted that the subject was attended with difficulty. It was
not, however, necessary- to enter into such abstruse inquiries ;
* State papers, 2 Sess., 20 Cong., Vol. ii, Doc. 80.
f Reports of Committees, 1 Sess., 23 Cong., Doc. 140.

308 jay's works.
all that was wanted was the adoption of some rule which would
certainly absorb the whole balance, and at the same time give to
a transfer to the pockets of the Georgians of money belonging
to the Creeks, the appearance of a payment under the treaty.
It was discovered that an allowance of interest at the rate of six
per cent, on the several awards, from the date of each claim,
would answer the purpose. Thus, on the award of $800 for
two slaves taken in 1779, fifty-five years' interest, or $2,640,
would be allowed. In this way the claimants would get the
entire balance, and might divide it pro rata among them. Mr.
Gilmer accordingly reported a bill, allowing the interest : and
it is needless to say that it became a law.*
Having witnessed the justice meted by the Federal Govern
ment to the Creek Indians, we request the reader's attention to
the treatment experienced by the Seminoles, and to
THE ORIGIN OF THE FLORIDA WAR.
It will be recollected that in 1816 the slave-holders complained
that their fugitive slaves found refuge in Florida, then be-
-*- The claim for interest was early made, and was refused by the President,
on the report of the Attorney-General, Mr. Wirt, to whom it had been re
ferred. The report, after showing that the demand for interest was not justi
fied by law or practice, proceeded to insist that it was, moreover, inequitable.
The following extract places in a strong light the injustice of Gilmer's bill,
and the servility of the northern members who voted for it.
"If the Commissioner, in assessing these damages, has given to the citi
zens of Georgia strict and stinted measure, there is nothing offensive to
equity in their asking for interest ; but if he has already given them vindic
tive, and even double damages, the addition of interest to such damages is
not, I think, a demand for which equity, of her own accord, would cry aloud.
. . . . Has the Commissioner been strict in calling on the Georgia claim
ants to? proof of tbe affirmative fact that the property for which they made
their claims was in being, and within the Creek nation at the date of the re
spective treaties ? On the contrary, he has, in every instance, presumed this
fact in favor of the claimants, without proof . .... As to the standard
of value — the epoch, with relation to which the values are to be considered,
is from 1783 to 1802 ; that is, from twenty to forty years ago. The region of
country to be regarded with reference to the- same subject, is the frontiers
of Georgia. In relation to that country, and in relation to that time, negroes,
old and young, men, women and children, are valued at an average of g365.-
80 ; horses of all ages and descriptions are valued at an average of $87.41 :
and in the same proportion in regard to other articles, which I understand is
fixing the property at an average of double its value at that time, and in that
quarter of the country. If this be so, equity, so far from demanding, would
revolt from the proposition of adding interest to such a valuation — it would
be usury, not.interest — prodigality, not justice." Rep., No. 128, 1 Sess., 20
Cong. Yet this usury and prodigality were voted to the Georgia slave-holders bv
northern members, at the expense of the Indians.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 309
longing to the crown of Spain ; and that, regardless of the
obligations of neutrality, a naval force had been sent by the
Government up the river Appalachicola, to destroy a fort con
taining about 300 negroes, most of whom were slaughtered.
This territory was afterwards ceded to the United States ; and
for several years past, the Government has been waging a
relentless arid most disastrous war against its aboriginal inhab
itants, with the avowed design of driving them from the Penin
sula. It is not our design to write the history of this war, but
merely to expose its true origin, and to explain the motives
which have led the whites to insist on the expulsion of the
Seminoles, and the causes which have induced the latter to of
fer a resistance unparalleled in savage warfare, for persevering
and desperate courage and ferocity.
The sacrifice on our part, of blood, of treasure, and of milita
ry honor in this war, is well known to be prodigious. Thirty
millions of dollars have already, it is said, been expended —
our best generals have been baffled, and their laurels withered ;
and our troops have perished in great numbers, in contests with
their savage foe, and by the sickliness of the climate. And yet
no rational cause is assigned by the Government for this disas
trous war. No reason is given why it is necessary, at all hazards,
and at every expense, to drive the Seminoles from Florida.
The whites are few in number, have far more land than they
can occupy, and certainly do not want the wet and unwholesome
everglades possessed by the Indians, and into which, we are
told, white men can only penetrate at certain seasons of the
year, without exposing their lives to almost certain destruction.
But were the Seminoles so numerous that it was necessary to
remove them, to make room for the whites, or so powerful as to
render it unsafe to, plant white settlements in Florida ? We
learn from official reports, that they numbered about 3000 ! *
* I herewith enclose for your information, a copy of the general plan of
operations which I have adopted for the removal of the Seminoles. I have
assumed that the round number of three thousand embraces all, of every de
scription." Wiley Thompson, Jr., Agent, Sept. 3, 1835. " I consider the
population, including negroes, not to exceed 3000, of which I should say 1600
ake females." Joseph Harris, Disbursing Agent of Florida Indians, Sept.
Zj, looo. 27

310 jay's works.
Major-General Jessup, the commanding officer of the army, and
well acquainted with the existing condition of the Territory, in
a letter to the Secretary of War, Feb. 11, 1837, makes the fol
lowing candid avowal :
" We have committed the error of attempting to remove them (the
Seminoles) when their lands were not required for agricultural purposes ;
when they were not in the way of the white inhabitants, and when the
greater portion of their country was an unexplored wilderness, of the
interior of which we were as ignorant as of the interior of China. . .
. ". I do not consider the country south of Chickasa Hatchee worth
the medicines we shall expend in driving the Indians from it."
Why, then, all this waste of blood and treasure ? We an
swer  TO PREVENT FUGITIVE SLAVES FROM FINDING AN
ASYLUM AMOMG THE INDIANS !
We well know how unwillingly this truth will be received by
those among us who contend that the North has nothing to do
with slavery ; but we appeal to facts — and to facts about which
there is and can be no dispute.
Florida borders upon two slave States, Alabama and Georgia,
and is not far distant from two others, Mississippi and Louis
iana. It is not, therefore, surprising that slaves from these
States, escaping from their masters, should seek refuge in the
huts of the Seminoles. We have already seen that the Federal
Government have lately awarded upwards of $5000 to the gal
lant officers and seamen who destroyed 300 fugitive slaves in
Florida, in 1816. The terrible example then made, was not, it
seems, effectual ; for in 1825, the War Department issued an
order on the subject of fugitive slaves among the Seminoles, and
the Indian Agent at Tallahassee was directed to take measures
to enable the claimants to identify their property for its imme
diate restoration. " Let the chiefs distinctly understand," wrote
the Agent, agreeably to his instructions, " that they are not to
harbor runaway negroes ; and that they will be required to give
up such negroes as are now residing within their limits." *
* State papers, 1 Sess., 19 Cong., Vol. iv, Doc. 74, p. 82.|

ACXKJJN vr TJtus UJsJMtitAL, wOVERNMENT. 311
An Alabama paper, speaking of the war'makes the following
confession :
" It is the power to entice away and instruct in bush-fighting so many
of our slaves, that we would wish to annihilate. These Seminoles can
not remain in the Peninsula of Florida without threatening the internal
safety of the South."
In 1834, a petition, signed by about one hundred of the in
habitants of Alachua county, Florida, was presented to Presi
dent Jackson, praying for his interposition against the Seminoles.
" While the lawless and indomitable people (says the petition) con
tinue where they now are, the owners of slaves in our territory, and
even in the Slates contiguous, cannot for a moment, in any thing like
security, enjoy the possession of this description of property. Does a
negro become tired of the service of his owner, he has only to flee to
the Indian country, where he will find ample safety against pursuit. It
is a fact which, if not susceptible of proof, is notwithstanding, and
upon good ground, firmly believed, that there is at this time living under
the protection of the Seminole Indians, a large number, probably more
than one hundred slaves, who have absconded from their masters in
the neighboring States and in Florida, since the treaty of Camp Moul
trie. Within a few weeks several parties are known to have sought
and found shelter in the nation, where they continue secure against
every effort of their owners to recover them  There
are, as it is believed, more than five hundred negroes residing with the
Seminole Indians, four-fifths of whom are runaways, or descendants of
runaways  It is perfectly obvious that during the
existence of such a state of things, the interests of this fertile and
promising section of Florida cannot flourish ; and we are constrained
to repeat, that there is no rational prospect for the better, so long as
the Indians are suffered to remain in their present location."
The petition concludes with recommending "the immediate
and efficient action of the government." *
In the spring of 1839, a sort of armistice was concluded with
the Seminoles. This gave vast offence to the slave-holders, and
at a public meeting held at Tallahassee, it was resolved, " That
the peninsula of Florida is the last place in the limits of the
United States wherein the Indians should be permitted to re
main." For this assertion, the following among other reasons
was assigned : "If located in Florida, all the runaway slaves
will find refuge and protection with them."
* 1 Sess., 24 Cong., Doc. 271.

312 jay's works.
The New Orleans Courier of July 27, 1839, in reference to
this same subject remarks :
" Every year's delay in subduing the Seminoles adds to the risk of
their being joined by runaway slaves from the adjacent States, and in
creases the danger of a rising among the serviles."
Slavery, then, is the key which unlocks the enigma of the
Florida war. To break up a refuge for runaway slaves, thirty
millions have already been expended ; and if necessary, thirty
millions more will be expended for the same object.
But it may be said, however satisfactorily the foregoing facts
may account for the conduct of the Federal Government, they
do not explain the" astonishing and pecuhar inveteracy manifest
ed by these Seminoles towards the whites. Other tribes have
without difficulty been removed to the west of the Mississippi ;
why then do these Indians alone offer a resistance to a superior
power, more determined and more heroic than perhaps any
recorded in history ? Again does slavery solve the difficulty.
It is very obvious that the Seminoles have been universally
exasperated. Their extreme hatred to the whites has unques
tionably been owing in part to the gross and wicked frauds which
they believe (with too much apparent reason) were practised in
the treaty of Payne's Landing, under which they were required
to remove from Florida. But the great and prevailing cause of
their deep-seated hostihty, is to be sought for in a long train of
frauds and injuries, of which they have been the victims on
account of their slaves ; and hkewise in the dread of Christian
slavery, entertained by the negroes who belong to, or have joined
the Seminoles.
Of the hostile chiefs, the most active, persevering, and daring,
was the celebrated Oseola. It is said that this man's mother
was seized and carried into Georgia as a slave, under pretence
that she was the daughter of a fugitive negress. If this story,
which has found its way into the public papers, be true, the
wrongs of the mother have been terribly avenged by the son.
That the reader may understand the narratives we are about
to lay before him, he must bear in mind that the Seminoles, like

action of the general government. 313
their more civihzed neighbors, are slave-holders, but, unlike
them, they exercise their authority in such a manner as to ren
der their slaves unwilling to leave them. The slaves are in
fact httle more than tenants of kind and familiar landlords, and
regarded with horror the very idea of being transferred from
their heathen to Christian masters. But there were many of
the whites who were exceedingly anxious to make the transfer.
The agent, Wiley Thompson, thus wrote to the Secretary of
War (October 27, 1834) :
" There are many very likely negroes in this nation. Some of the
whites in the adjacent settlements manifest a restless desire to obtain
them, and I have no doubt that Indian-raised negroes are now in pos
session of the whites."
The volume of documents submitted to Congress, June 3,
1836, and entitled "Seminole Hostilities," from which we quote,
contains many illustrations of the agent's assertion ; we can
spare room for only a portion of them.
It appears that Conchattimico, a Florida chief, was the pos
sessor of a number of slaves, the title to whom was disputed by
another Indian, who sold his claim to a white man. The means
taken by the purchaser to obtain the slaves, are thus described
by the agent in his letter to the War Department, January 20,
1834: " I was informed by the sub-agent, that Conchattimico sent a runner
for him not long since; that he immediately repaired to the old
chiefs town, where he arrived in the night, and found the Indians and
negroes greatly excited and in arms ; and that very soon thereafter
Vacca Pechassie, with fifteen or more of his warriors in arms arrived,
for the purpose of aiding in resistance of a threatened violent attempt
to force the slaves out of Conchattimico's possession. Persons in
terested in the adverse claim, were frequently seen hovering about the
reserve ; and the chief was informed that attempts had been made to
bribe commanders of steamboats, on the river, to aid in accomplishing
the capture of the slaves. . . . Under such circumstances I could
not but approve the order given by the sub-agent to Conchattimico, to
defend his property by force, should a violent attempt be made to wrest
it from him."
Shortly after this, Judge Cameron, of the United States Dis
trict Court, investigated the white man's claim to these slaves,
and pronounced it groundless. Notwithstanding this decision,
27*

314 jay's works.
the claim was again sold to a company of whites, who resolved
to relieve the chief of his property. But as the chief intended
to protect it by force of arms,- the enterprise was not free from
danger. The expedient resorted to by the kidnappers is thus
explained in a letter from the late Governor of the Territory to
the Secretary of War, May 23, 1836.
" I herewith transmit you a petition from the Indian chief Conchat
timico, to be laid before Congress should you consider that necessary.
Taking forcibly the slaves of this chief, after those men had created an
alarm among the white inhabitants which resulted in disarming the
Indians, was an outrage well calculated to rouse them to hostility. The
alarm was concerted by these violators of all law, solely with the view
of obtaining, without danger of resistance, the slaves of the chief. I
have no expectation the slaves referred to in the petition will ever be
obtained, as I take it for granted they have been carried to a great
distance and sold."
This Conchattimico was a friendly chief, having no intercourse
with the hostile Seminoles ; but on the report being raised that
he was about to join the enemy, he surrendered his arms to quiet
the apprehensions, real or affected, of his white neighbors. No
sooner had he thus rendered himself defenceless, than a party of
Georgians carried off his slaves, twenty in number, and valued
at $15,000.
We have already seen how profitable it is for a Georgian to
lose a slave among the Indians ; but Congress has provided no
fund to indemnify the Indian master for the slaves of which he
may be robbed by Georgians.
Another friendly Florida chief, Pechassie, thus complains to
the agent (28th July, 1835) :
" I am induced to write you in consequence of the depredations
making, and attempted to be made on my farm, by a company of men,
negro-stealers ; some of whom are from Columbus, (Georgia,) and have
connected themselves with Brown and Douglas. It is reported, and
believed by all the white people around here, that a large number of
them will very shortly come down here, and attempt to take off Billy,
Jim", Kose and her family, and others (slaves.) ... I should like
to have your advice how I should act. I dislike to make any trouble,
or have any difficulty with the white people ; but if they will trespass
on my premises, and on my rights, I must defend myself the best way
I can. . . Please direct me how to act in this matter. Douglas and
his company hired a man, who has two large trained dogs for the pur-

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 315
pose, to come down and take Billy. The man came, but seeing he
could do nothing alofle, has gone off somewhere, probably to recruit.
He is from Mobile, and follows for a livelihood catching runaway
negroes with these large dogs."
By a letter from the United States Attorney, we find that
Pechassie was subsequently " robbed of all the negroes he had,
six in number."
As these robberies were committed on friendly chiefs, and
after the commencement of the Seminole war, they excited the
attention and alarm of the officers of government, and hence
probably it is that official notice was taken of them. They may
give us some idea of the provocations which preceded and
caused the war. Indeed, the documents before us incidentally
show, that the " likely negroes " of the Seminoles now in arms,
were as strongly coveted by the whites, as the slaves of the friend
ly chiefs. By a treaty made with the Seminoles in 1832, the
Federal Government, with its usual solicitude for the interests
of slave-holders, assumed the payment of all claims on the
Indians for " slaves and other property," to the amount of
$7,000. A scramble of course ensued for the money, and a
voluminous correspondence took place between the agent and
the Secretary of War, respecting claims for Indian slaves ; and
it appears that the Seminoles had been harassed for years by the
contrivances of the whites to rob them of their slaves. The
following is a sample. It seems that a Mrs. Hanna claimed a
negro woman and her increase, in possession of the Seminoles.
The claim had been made known to the War Department, and so
long ago as the 8th of March, 1828, the following mandate had
been issued to the Indian agent :
" The Secretary of War directs that you forthwith deliver to Mary
Hanna, widow, or her agent, the slaves claimed by her, and take a
bond imposing the obligation on her to abide by such decision as it
may be esteemed proper to seek, in testing the right of ownership in
the property in question."
We have here a specimen of the justice meted by our govern
ment to the Indians. A woman claims a slave in the possession
of an Indian. Without the slightest inquiry into the justice
of the claim, the property is ordered to be wrested forthwith

316 jay's WORKS.
from the possessor and delivered to the claimant, and then, as
if in utter mockery, the woman is to give her bond to abide any
decision that may hereafter be made as to the legality of her
claim. Who is to obtain this decision ? Certainly not the
woman ; and should the poor ignorant Indian go to law, where
would he look for Mrs. Hanna or her slaves? From some
cause not explained, the wicked and absurd order of the Secre
tary was not executed ; and on the 2d of March, 1835, seven
years after, a second order from the Secretary of War directed
the agent " to afford whatever facilities may be in his power,
upon the claim being established by proper proof before the compe
tent tribunal, to have the property restored to Mrs. Hanna."
Should the reader be struck with the remarkable moral differ
ence between these two orders, the explanation is easy, — the
office was filled at the time of the first order by a slave-holder ;
at the time of the second, by a northern gentleman. The agent
now investigated the case, and it was discovered that the father
of Mrs. Hanna, about the year 1815, had sold the woman in
question, then full grown, to a Seminole, for forty steers, and
had afterwards, as was alleged, given the same woman to his
daughter ; and on this pretended gift Mrs. Hanna claimed, not
merely the woman, who had now lived twenty-five years with
the Indians, but also all the children she had borne within that
time! On the 12th of December, 1834, the agent wrote to the Secre
tary, that a Seminole woman of the name of Nelly, inherited
from her father " a considerable number of slaves," that a man
named Floyd claims the whole of them by virtue of a bill of
sale, and that Nelly insists that " Floyd imposed on her by pre
senting for her signature a bill of sale for all the negroes,
instead of a written authority to him to recover some for her."*
The agent adds, he has seen no one who pretends that Floyd
paid her for the negroes, and that the universal impression is,
that she was grossly imposed upon.
If civilized and Christian slave-holders are ready to murder,
or, to use Mr. Preston's phrase, to HANG abolitionists for
*A portion of them were claimed by another Indian.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 317
questioning their moral right to hold property in man, we may
judge what must have been the exasperation of the Seminoles
at these multiplied attempts to rob them of their slaves.
There is still another mode in which slavery has operated to
produce and continue the war in Florida. Although the expul
sion of the Seminoles from the peninsula was devoutly desired
vby the whites, no inclination was felt to send their "likely
negroes" to the west of the Mississippi. Of these negroes some
were stolen, others claimed under fraudulent pretexts, and
others it was proposed to purchase of their masters. General E.
K. Call addressed a letter to President Jackson, (March 22,
1835,) asking leave "to purchase one hundred and fifty"
of the Seminole negroes. " These negroes," he affirms, " are
violently opposed to leaving the country. Ii the Indians are
permitted to convert them into specie, one great obstacle in the
way of removal may be overcome." The applicant was in
formed that no permission was necessary, there being no legal
prohibition to the Indians selling their slaves. Agents were
forthwith despatched to the nation, to buy up negroes. Mr. W.
Thompson, the agent, however, assumed the responsibility of
prohibiting these agents from commencing their negotiations ;
and assigned his reasons in a very able letter to the Secretary
of War (April 27, 1835) :
" The intercourse laws," he remarked, " prohibited the purchase of
an Indian pony by a member of civilized society, without permission
from the agent ; and why, but because the Indian is considered in a
state of pupilage, and incapable of protecting himself against the arts
and wiles of civilized man ? If the Indian's interest in a pony is of so
much importance in the estimation of the government, as to require
such strict guards to be thrown around it, the protection of his interest
in his slave should be esteemed more important, by as much as the
latter is more valuable than the former species of property. If, in the
regulation of the sale of ponies, the United States exercise a rightful
power, the obligation on them to guard the interest of the Indian in
his slave, is greatly more imposing. The negroes in the nation dread
the idea of being transferred from their present state of ease and com
parative liberty, to bondage and hard labor, under overseers, on sugar
and cotton plantations.
" They have always had a great influence over the Indians. They
live in villages separate, and in many instances remote from their
owners, and enjoying equal liberty with their owners, with the single
exception that the slave supplies his owner annually from the product

318 jay's works.
of his httle field, with corn in proportion to the amount of the crop —
in no instance that has come to my knowledge, exceeding ten bushels ;
the residue is considered the property of the slave. Many of these
slaves have stocks of horses, cows and hogs, with which the Indian
owner never assumes a right to intermeddle. I am thus particular on
this point, that you may understand the true cause of the abhorrence ot
the negroes, of every idea of change. And the indulgence so extended
to the slave, will enable you to credit the assertion, that an Indian
would almost as soon sell his child as his slave, except when under the
influence of intoxicating liquors."
We have here a picture of certainly a very extraordinary
system of slavery. Slaves abhorring a change, and masters no
more thinking of selling a slave than a child ! But then these
Indians were heathen, and perhaps it was from not adverting to
this fact, that General Call took for granted they would be glad
to convert men, women, and children into specie. President
Jackson was equally inconsiderate. The agent was answered :
" The President is of opinion that the opportunity to sell their
slaves will be an inducement for the Seminoles to remove. . . . Nor
is it considered that the permission to the Indians to sell would be an
inhuman act. It is not to be presumed the condition of these slaves
would be worse than that of others in the same section of country."
To this presumption of executive philanthropy, the agent
forcibly replied, June 17th, 1835 :
" The remark in your letter that ' it is not to be presumed the
condition of these slaves would be worse than that of others in the
same section of country,' is true ; yet you will agree with me, that the
same remark would be apphcable to myself, or to any other individual in
the United States, as we should, if subjected to slavery, be in the pre
cise condition of our fellow slaves. . . . Any one at all acquainted
with the condition of the negro, as connected with his Indian owner
here, could not fail to admit that the change with him would be
oppressively great."
Mr. Thompson farther remarked to the Secretary of War :
" If the Department could be satisfied that the undeniable abhorrence
of the negroes in this nation to the idea of being transferred from the
present state of ease and comparative freedom, to sugar and cotton
plantations, under the control of severe task-masters,* had been made
* Mr. Thompson was not an abolitionist, but had lately been a representa
tive in Congress from the State of Georgia.

action of the general government. 319
to subserve the views of government, by inducing the negroes to exert
their known influence over the Indians, through pledges made to them,
accompanied by assurances that their removal west would, more than
any thing else, serve to secure the existing relations between them and
the Indians, then surely the Department, instead of classing them with
the Indian skins and furs, would require a punctilious redemption oi
those pledges. I have not heard of a solitary Indian desiring the
¦ privilege to sell."
The President at last yielded, and the agent was authorized
to prohibit any person entering the nation to buy slaves. But
it was too late : the negroes well knew how anxious the whites
were to possess them, and they reasonably feared that if the
Indians were expelled, instead of being permitted to accompany
their kind masters, they would be consigned to the cruel and
detested service of Georgia and Alabama planters. Hence,
impelled by the most powerful motives which can stimulate the
heart and nerve the arm of man, they resisted to the utmost the
emigration of their masters, and in the deadly struggle that
ensued, evinced their devotion to the Indians, and their abhor
rence of the whites, by a-ferocious and successful courage which
may well send a thrill of fearful anticipation throughout the
slave-region. We now submit to our readers whether the facts we have
exhibited do not prove beyond all doubt that the blood and
treasure expended in the Florida war, have been expended for
the sole purpose of breaking up a refuge for fugitive slaves ; and
that the Seminoles have been goaded into their extraordinary
and desperate resistance, by the frauds and robberies of slave
holders ?
the efforts of the federal government to prevent
the abolition of slavery in the island of cuba.
At the time of the Congress of Panama, Spain was still at
war with her late colonies, and of course they were authorized,
by every principle of national law, as well as of self-defence, to
carry their arms into the dominions of their enemy. Ouba was
at a short distance, devoted to the royal cause, and affording a
depot for a naval force ever ready to prey upon the commerce

320 jay's WORKS.
of the republics. Under these circumstances, Mexico and Co
lombia meditated the invasion and conquest of that island. But
these republics, on achieving their own freedom, had given
freedom to their slaves ; and it was probable that they would
manifest equal regard for human rights, were they to become
masters of Cuba. These remarks will explain the following
extract from the instructions given to the ministers appointed to
represent the United States at the Congress :
" It is required by the frank and friendly relations which we most
anxiously desire ever to cherish with the new republics, that you should,
without reserve, explicitly state that the United States have too much
at stake, in the fortunes of Cuba, to allow them to see with indifference
a war of invasion prosecuted in a desolating manner, or to see employed,
in the purposes of such a war, one race of the inhabitants combating
against another, upon principles and with motives that must inevitably
lead, if not to the extermination of one party or the other, to the
most shocking excesses. The humanity of the United States in re
spect to the weaker, and which in such a terrible struggle would'prob-
ably be the suffering portion, and the duty to defend themselves against
the contagion of such near and dangerous examples, would constrain
them, even at the hazard of losing the friendship of Mexico and Co
lombia, to employ ah the means necessary to their security."*
The obvious meaning of all this, in plain English, divested of
its diplomatic circumlocution, is simply that the Federal Gov
ernment, in order to protect the slavery of the South from the
shock it might receive from emancipation in Cuba, would, if
necessary, go to war with our sister republics to prevent the
invasion of that island.
But so long as Spain refused to acknowledge the independence
of her revolted colonies, the war would be continued, Cuba would
be exposed to invasion, and the slave States to the " contagion,"
of emancipation. Hence the cabinet at Washington became
exceedingly anxious to act the part of peace-makers. Our
Minister at St. Petersburg was instructed " to endeavor to en
gage the Russian Government to contribute its best exertions
towards terminating the existing contest between Spain and her
colonies. From the vicinity of Cuba to the United States, its
* Letter of Instructions from Mr. Clay, Secretary of State, to Messrs.
Anderson and Sargent, May 8th, 1826.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 321
valuable commerce, and the nature of its population, their gov
ernment cannot be indifferent to any political change to which
that island may be destined."*
Spain also was implored, through the American Minister at
Madrid, to be reconciled to her undutiful children.
"It is not for the new republics," said Mr. Clay in his letter, (27th
April, 1825,) to Mr. Everett, "that the President wishes you to urge
upon Spain the expediency of concluding the war. If the war should
continue between Spain and the new republics, and those islands
(Cuba and Porto Bico) should become the object and theatre of it,
their fortunes have such a connection with the people of the United
States, that they could not be indifferent spectators ; and the possible
contingencies of a protracted war might bring upon ihe Government of
the United States duties and obligations, the performance of which, how
ever painful it should be, they might not be at liberty to decline."^
The proposed invasion was abandoned ; but the fears of our
government were not allayed. The war continued, and some
contingency arising from it might give liberty to the tens of
thousands in Cuba pining in bonds. A new attempt was made
to induce Spain to remove the danger by concluding the war.
On the 22d of October, 1829, Mr. Van Buren, then Secretary
of State, instructed Mr. Van Ness, our Minister in Spain, to
press upon that court a reconciliation with the South American
republics. " Considerations," he remarked, " connected with a certain class of
our population, make it the interest of the southern section of the Union,
that no attempt should be made in that island to throw off the yoke of
Spanish dependence ; the first effect of which would be the sudden
emancipation of a numerous slave population, whose result could not but
be very sensibly felt upon the adjacent shores of the United Stales."
Fortunate is it for the cause of humanity, that the greatest
republic upon earth had not the power to prevent " the sudden
emancipation of a numerous slave population " in the British
West Indies, on the 1st of August, 1838, "whose result," blessed
* Letter from Mr. Clay to Mr. Middleton, 10th May, 1825.
t Senate Documents, 1st Sess., 19 Cong., Vol. iii.
28

322 JAYS WORKS.
be God, is and will be "very sensibly felt on the adjacent
shores of the United States." *
The subject of the Panama mission was debated at great
length in both Houses of Congress, and frequent allusions were
made by the speakers to Cuba. Let us hearken to the senti
ments expressed by some of our republican legislators.
Mr. Randolph of Virginia : — " Cuba possesses an immense negro
population. In case those States (Mexico and Colombia) should invade
Cuba at all, it is unquestionable that this invasion will be made with
this principle, — th^ genius of universal emancipation, — this sweeping
anathema against the white population in front, — and then sir, what is
the situation of the southern Stales? "
Mr. Johnson of Louisiana : — " We know that Colombia and Mexico
have long contemplated the independence of that island (Cuba.) The
final decision is now to be made, and the combination of forces and
plan of attack to be formed. What, then, at such a crisis, becomes
the duty of the Gcjjjernment ? Send your ministers instantly to this
diplomatic assembly, where the measure is maturing. Advise with
them — remonstrate — menace, if necessary, against a step so danger
ous to us, and perhaps fatal to them."
Mr. Berrien of Georgia : — " The question to be determined is this :
With a due regard to the safety of the southern States, can you suffer
these islands (Cuba and Porto Rico) to pass into the hands of BUC
CANEERS, drunk with their new-born liberty ? If our interests and
our safety shall require us to say to these new republics, Cuba and
Porto Rico must remain as they are, we are free to say it, and by the
blessing of God and the strength of our arms, to enforce the declara
tion ; and let me say to gentlemen, these high considerations do require
it. The vital interes'ts of the South demand it."
These new republics were stigmatized by this honorable gen
tleman as buccaneers ; not that they were robbers, but because
they had ceased to rob the poor and helpless ; and the evidence
of their being drunk with Hberty, was their practical acknowl-
*The following extract from the Raleigh Register (N. C.) proves that the
idea of interference by our Government to prevent West India emancipation,
was contemplated by some of the slave-holders.
" Emancipation of West India Slavery.
" The news brought by the late arrivals of the determination of Great
Britain, to emancipate the slaves of her West India Islands, is replete with
interest to the people of this Union. If such a measure is in contemplation,
and we see no reason to doubt it, can our Government look quietly on, andsee
it consummated t"

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 323
edgment of the principles of human rights, professed in our
declaration of independence.
Mr. Floyd of Virginia: — " So far as I can see, in all its bearings, it
(the Panama Congress) looks to the conquest of Cuba and Porto
Rico ; or, at all events, of tearing them from the crown of Spain. The
interests, if not safety of our own country, would rather require us to
interpose to prevent such an event, and I would rather take up arms
to prevent than to accelerate such an occurrence." Congressional
Debates, 2d vol.
The facts and sentiments we have now exhibited, prove beyond
cavil, that this mighty republic volunteered to solicit the aid of
foreign monarchs to perpetuate slavery in Cuba, and was strongly
disposed to incur the hazard and calamities of war in the cause, —
not of liberty, but of bondage.
Having noticed our watchful guardianship over Cuba, we will
next advert to
THE HOSTILITY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO HAYTI.
To do justice to this part of our subject, we must beg the
patience of the reader while we briefly lay before him a few
historical facts.
The Island of St. Domingo was one of the most valuable
colonies belonging to the crown of France. It is about 450
miles long, and 150 wide. Its population in 1790, was esti
mated as follows :
White inhabitants,  42,000
Free colored inhabitants,  44,000
Slaves,  600,000
Total,  ¦'  686,000
Of the free colored inhabitants, numerically equal with the
whites, many were men of education and property, landed pro
prietors, and the holders of slaves. Still they were debarred
from all political privileges on account of their complexion. At
the commencement of the French Revolution, the National
Assembly abolished this discrimination on account of color, and
gave the free blacks in the colonies, the same civil rights that

324 jay's works.
were possessed by their white brethren. The pride of the latter
led them to refuse submission to this humiliating decree of the
mother country, and a civil war between the whites and the free
blacks ensued. No interference whatever with the rights of
slave-holders as such, had at this time been attempted, either
in France or the colony ; and the dissensions which convulsed
the island, for a long time related exclusively to the political
condition of the free colored population. In August, 1791, a
partial insurrection of the slaves occurred, favored by the quar
rels of their masters. In some instances the free blacks united
with the whites, in their efforts to suppress the insurrection, and
in others, they availed themselves of the aid of the revolted
slaves, against the planters.
In 1792, the French Government sent over three commis
sioners, with 6000 troops, to enforce their decree respecting the
free blacks, and to restore order. Many of the planters, how
ever, still resisted, while others took sides with the Government ;
and the distractions of the island were now aggravated by a
civil war between the whites themselves.
A portion of the planters, abhorring the attempt of the Gov
ernment to elevate the free blacks to a political equality with
themselves, now intrigued with Great Britain to seize upon the
island, and thus to save them from the degrading consequences
of republican principles. In compliance with their invitation,
conveyed through their agent, M. Charmilly, an expedition was
fitted out at Jamaica, for the capture of St. Domingo ; and on
the 19th of September, 1793, arrived rat Jeremie. Only a few
days before the appearance of the British fleet on the coast,
one of the French commissioners, who happened at the moment
to be acting alone, in the absence of his colleagues, having
received intelligence of the intended invasion, and knowing
the disaffection of the planters, issued a hasty proclamation,
giving freedom to all the slaves, as the only means of preserv
ing the colony from conquest.*
The free negroes and the manumitted slaves united in defend-
* The ensuing year, 1794, by a decree of the National Assembly, slavery
was formally abolished throughout all the French colonies.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 325
ing the island against the invaders, while an army of 2000 of
the white inhabitants ranged themselves under the British
standard. The French commissioners soon after returned to
France; great numbers of the planters emigrated; and the
island was virtually abandoned to the blacks, except so much of
it as was occupied by the British troops. These troops were
from- time to time reinforced by detachments from Europe and
the West Indies — but in vain. The blacks under Toussaint,
who was appointed by the government at home, " Governor
General of the armies of St. Domingo," continued the contest
for about five years, and finally succeeded in driving the English
from the island. Britain being in the mean time at war with
France, her naval forces prevented all intercourse between the
colony and the mother country : and the blacks, thus left to
themselves, declared themselves independent on the 1st of July,
1798, and organized the Government of Hayti.
The peace of Ameins afforded Bonaparte an opportunity to
attempt the subjugation of the island, and the reduction of its
inhabitants to slavery.
Early in January, 1802, a French army of 20,000 men was
landed in St. Domingo, and various reinforcements afterwards
followed. The war was waged with atrocious cruelty on the part of the
French, and the blacks, aided by the climate, succeeded in de
stroying about 40,000 of their enemies in eleven months ; and
on the 19th of November, 1802, the wrecks of the invading
army surrendered to Dessalines, the black chief. Since this
time Hayti has continued an independent nation, perfectly inof
fensive in all its foreign relations ; and its entire sovereignty is
at present fully acknowledged by both France and England, and
undisputed by any power on earth.
It is now important to inquire, what has been the conduct of
the United States towards this heroic republic ?
Twelve years after slavery had been abolished by a decree of
the French Government ; after the expulsion of the armies of
England and France ; when for three years not a hostile foot
had pressed the soil of Hayti ; when a regularly organized gov-
28*

326 jay's works.
ernment was in full operation ; and without one solitary cause
of complaint against the new State, the American Congress
passed an act, (February 28, 1806,) "to suspend the commercial
intercourse between the United States and certain parts of the
Island of St. Domingo." These certain parts were defined in
the act, to be such parts as were not " in the possession and
under the acknowledgment of France ; " and of course included
the whole island. As there was at this time no war in fact, be
tween Hayti and France, and the latter was prevented by the
naval superiority of England, and her own continental wars,
from sending a single soldier to Hayti, the sole object of this
act was to distress and harass the Haytiens by depriving them
of the bread-stuffs and other necessaries they were accustomed
to receive from this country. It was a piece of wanton cruelty,
unrequired by the obligations of neutrality ; and demanded by
France in a tone of arrogance, which would have secured its
rejection, had not the intended victims been black. Bonaparte,
irritated by the loss of his army, and the defeat of his designs
upon Hayti, resolved to starve, if possible, a people whom he
could not conquer ; and he found in the Federal Government, a
willing instrument of his vengeance. His Minister at Wash
ington, in a letter to the Secretary of State, demanded an
immediate cessation of the commerce between the citizens of
the United States and " the rebels of St. Domingo — that race
of African slaves, the reproach and the refuse of nature ; " and
he enforced his demand with the information : " The Emperor
and King, my master, expects from the dignity and candor of
the Government of the Union, that an end be put to it prompt
ly." * The letter was written in January ; and in February the
act required was passed, and continued in force for two years.
The invitation to the United States to send ministers to the
Congress of Panama, has been already mentioned. In the doc
ument conveying the invitation, it was remarked :
" On what basis the relations of Hayti, and other parts of our hem
isphere that shall hereafter be in like circumstances, are to be placed,
is a question simple at first view, but attended with serious difficulties
* American State Papers, Vol. v, p. 154.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 327
when closely examined. These arise from the different manner of
regarding Africans, and from their different rights in Hayti, the United
States, and in the American States. This question will be determined
at the Isthmus." *
The invitation was accepted, and the instructions to our min
isters contained the following :
" Under the actual circumstances of Hayti, the President does not
think that it would be proper at this time to recognize it as a new
State." f
This, be it remembered, was just a quarter of a century since
the Haytiens had declared and maintained their independence,
and at a moment when they were enjoying the blessings and
exercising the prerogatives of an independent State, and at
peace with all the world. And what motive prompted the
United States thus to exert its influence to prevent the Congress
of Panama from recognizing Hayti " as a new State ? " — none
other than the apprehension that the admission of a palpable
truth, the independence of a black republic, would prove dan
gerous to the perpetuity of American slavery. Is this slander ?
Let the members of Congress speak for themselves. The fol
lowing sentiments were elicited in the debate on the Panama
mission :
Mr. Berrien of Georgia : — " Consistently with our own safety, can
the people of the South permit the intercourse which would result
from establishing relations of any sort with Hayti? Is the eman
cipated slave, his hands yet reeking " (thirty-two years after slavery
had been abolished by the French Government) " in the blood of his
murdered master, to be admitted into their ports, to spread the doc
trines of insurrection, and to strengthen and invigorate them, by ex
hibiting in his own person an example of successful revolt ? Gentle
men must be sensible, this cannot be. The great principle of self-
preservation will be arrayed against it. I have been educated in senti
ments of habitual reverence for the Constitution of the United States :
I have been taught to consider the union of these States as essential to
their safety. The feeling is nowhere more universal or more strong
than among the people of the South. But they have a stronger feeling :
need I name it ? Is there any who hears and does not understand me ?
Let me implore gentlemen not to call that feeling into action by this
disastrous policy."
* Senate Documents, 1st Sess., 19 Cong., Vol. iii.
t Letter of Mr. Clay, Secretary of State, 8th May, 1826.

328 jay's works.
In plain English, the slave-holders love slavery more than
they do the Union ; and would sacrifice the last, rather than
acknowledge as free, a people who had once been slaves.
Mr. Benton of Missouri: — "The peace of eleven States in this
Union will not permit the fruits of a successful negro insurrection to be
exhibited among them ; it will not permit the fact to be seen and told,
that for the murder of their masters and mistresses, they are to find
friends among the white people of the United States."
Mr. Hamilton of South Carolina : — "It is proper that on this
occasion I should speak with candor and without reserve : that I should
avow what I believe to be the sentiments of the southern people on this
question ; and this is, that Haytien independence is not to be tolerated in
any form. * * * * A people will not stop to discuss the nice
metaphysics oi a federative system, when havoc and destruction menace
them in their doors."
Mr. Hayne of South Carolina : — " With nothing connected with
slavery can we consent to treat with other nations ; and least of all
ought we to touch the question of the independence of Hayti in con
junction with the revolutionary governments whose own history affords
an example scarcely less fatal to our repose. These governments have
proclaimed principles of hberty and equality, and have marched to
victory under the banner of universal emancipation. You find men
of color at the head of their armies, in the Legislative halls, and in the
Executive departments. * * * * Our policy with regard to
Hayti is plain ; we never can acknowledge her independence. * *
* * Let our Government direct all our Ministers in South Amer
ica and Mexico, to protest against the independence of Hayti."
Gentlemen, when they talk in a passion, rarely talk wisely or
consistently. Mr. Hayne insists that we cannot touch the ques
tion of the independence of Hayti in conjunction with the
American revolutionary governments ; and yet in the next
breath, he is for opening negotiations with all these governments
on this very subject. Almost every slave-holder assures us that
the slaves, if. emancipated, could not take care of themselves ;
and yet Mr. Hayne proclaims the important fact, that the
armies of these same governments have " marched to victory,"
with colored men at their head ; and that colored men are found
in their Legislative halls and Executive departments !
Mr. Johnson of Louisiana : — "It may be proper to express to the
South American States the unalterable opinion entertained here in
regard to the intercourse with thenv The unadvised recognition of
that island, (Hayti) and the public reception of their ministers, will
nearly sever our diplomatic intercourse, and bring about a separation

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 329
and alienation alike injurious to both. I deem it of the highest concern
to the political connection of these countries, to remonstrate against a
measure so justly offensive to us, and to make that remonstrance ef
fectual." Congressional Debates, Vol. H.
Thus the gentleman from Louisiana looked upon the recogni
tion of Hayti by other and independent States, as a measure so
offensive to us, as to afford us ground for quarrelling with them.
We will now advance twelve years in our history, and see if
the lapse of time has softened the hatred of our rulers of Hayti.
On the 17th of December, 1838, a petition was presented to the
House of Representatives, praying for the establishment of the
usual international relations with that republic. No sooner was
the purport of the petition announced, than vehement objections
were made to it, and no less than thirty-two members had the
hardihood to vote against even its reception. They were, how
ever, in the minority ; and on a motion being made to refer it
to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the chairman of that com
mittee, himself a slave-holder, advocated the reference, as the
best way of stifling the discussion, observing that " several sim
ilar memorials had been sent there the last session, which had
never been reported on. This would take a similar course ; it
would never be heard of again." With this intimation, the peti
tion was re'ferred. A motion was then made to instruct the
committee to report on the petition ; but, to stop the discussion,
the previous question was moved, and the motion denied by a
great majority. A few extracts from the speeches delivered on
this occasion may be useful, as showing the temper and logic
displayed by the southern members.
Mr. Legare of South Carolina: — "It (the petition) originates in
a design to revolutionize the South and convulse the Union, and ought
therefore to be rejected with reprobation. As sure as you live, sir, if
this course is permitted to go on, the sun of this Union will go down 
it will go down in BLOOD — and go down to rise no more. I will
vote unhesitatingly against nefarious designs like these. They are
treason; yes, sir, I pronounce the authors of such things traitors —
traitors not to their country only, but to the whole human race."
Mr. Wise of Virginia : — " We are called to recognize the insur
rectionists who rose on their French masters. A large portion of those
now in power in this black repiiblic, are slaves who out their masters'
throats. Christophe himself was an insurrectionist and a revolutionist.

330 jay's works.
Their government has the stamp of such an origin. And will any
gentleman tell me now, that slaves, aided by an English army, (and it
is consolatory to think, when we are threatened by abolitionists with
having our throats cut at the South, that these slaves in St. Domingo,
though ten to one in number, never could have succeeded in insurrec
tion, but for the aid of the British army,) ought to be recognized by
this Government, and that their being such is no argument against it ?
No, it is the abolition spirit alone which would have us say to these
men, whose hands are yet red with their masters' blood, — ' You shall
be recognized as freemen ; we wish to establish international relations
with you.' Never will I — never will my constituents be forced into
this. This is the only body of men who have emancipated themselves
by butchering their masters. They have long been free, I admit : yet,
if they had been free for centuries, — if Time himself should confront
me, and shake his hoary locks at my opposition, — I should say to him,
I owe more to my constituents — to the quiet of my people — than I
owe or can owe to mouldy prescriptions, however ancient."
The consolation enjoyed by this gentleman, from the convic
tion that the Haytiens are indebted to a British army for their
hberty, is not a little ludicrous. There has never been but one
British army in Hayti, and that was sent for the purpose, not
of emancipation, but of conquest; and instead of aiding the
blacks, it was joined by two thousand of the planters, who
looked to it as the means by which they were to recover their
authority over their former slaves. Yet this army, thus aided,
found itself vanquished by the depised blacks ; and in May,
1798, under Brigadier General Maitland, capitulated to Tous
saint, the black general. The history of St. Domingo affords
much and valuable instruction to slave-hblders, but certainly
very little consolation.
It may not be uninteresting to state a few facts relative to the
present condition of a repubhc which so powerfully excites the
apprehensions of southern gentlemen, and to the magnitude of
the commerce which our northern politicians are willing to sac
rifice for^southern votes.
The advocates of slavery are fond of representing the Hay
tiens as a horde of barbarians. We therefore give the following
evidence, pubhshed by the British Parliament, and taken before
one of its committees.
Evidence of Vice Admiral, the Hon. Charles Fleming, Member of
Parliament ; — " He could not speak positively of the increase of the

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 331
Haytien population since 1804, but believed it had trebled since that
time.* They now feed themselves, and they export provisions, which
neither the French nor the Spaniards had ever done before. He saw
a sugar estate near Cape Haytien, General Boulon's, extremely well
cultivated and in beautiful order. A new plantation was forming on
the opposite side of the road. Their victuals were very superior to
those in Jamaica, consisting chiefly of meat, cattle being very cheap.
He saw no marks of destitution anywhere. The country seemed im
proving, and trade increasing. The estate he visited near the Cape
was large ; it was calculated to make three hundred hogsheads of sugar.
It was as beautifully laid out and as well managed as any estate he had
seen in the West Indies. His official correspondence as Admiral with
the Haytien Government, made him attribute much efficiency to it,
and it bore strong marks of civilization. There was a better policy in
Hayti than in the new South American States ; the communication
was more rapid ; the roads were much better. One had been cut from
Port-au-Prince to Cape Haytien that would do honor to any country.
A regular port was established. The government is one quite worthy
of a civilized people."
" In 1831, the imports into France from Hayti exceeded in value
the imports from Sweden, Denmark, the Hanseatic Towns, Holland,
Austria, Portugal, the French West Indies, or China." Mc Culloch's
Dictionary of Commerce, p. 637.
In 1833, the imports from Hayti into the United States ex
ceeded in value our imports from Prussia, Sweden and Norway,
Denmark and the Danish West Indies, Ireland and Scotland,
Holland, Belgium, Dutch West Indies, British West Indies,
Spain, Portugal, all Italy, Turkey and the Levant, or any one
of the South American republics. And what protection is
afforded to this commerce by the Federal Government — a gov
ernment willing to negotiate in every court of Europe for com
pensation for shipwrecked or fugitive negroes ?
"Our trade with Hayti is embarrassed; it is subjected to severe
discriminating duties. We are probably the least favored of any peo
ple in the ports of the republic. Tonnage duties and vexatious port
charges discourage and oppress our commerce there. I am assured
that, but for these impediments, the trade from this country with that
would be greatly extended. The acknowledged cause of all the em
barrassments to that trade is founded in the fact, that our Government
refuses to recognize the Government of Hayti. We stand aloof, as if
they were a lawless tribe of savages. While all other powers have
long since acknowledged them as an independent sovereignty, we
refuse to recognize them. Others profit by their commerce at our
* *J th^,census °f 1824, the population was stated at 935,000. It is un
questionably upwards of a million at the present time.

332 jay's works.
expense. We have no representative at the island of any grade, nor
have they a public officer accredited here. No commercial relation,
therefore, exists between the two Governments." Speech of Mr.
Grennell in the House of Representatives, December 18th, 1838.
If the treatment which Hayti has received from the United
States, evinces the hatred of our republic to emancipation, we
have a proof no less strong of its attachment to slavery, in

THE CONDUCT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOWARDS
TEXAS.'
In 1829, the Republic of Mexico having achieved her own
independence, gave liberty to every slave within her limits.
This State had a vast and fertile, but thinly peopled territory,
adjacent to Louisiana. In this territory, within a few years
past, a large number of adventurers from the United States had
taken up their residence, with the consent, and under the juris
diction of Mexico. These adventurers sighed for the sweets of
slavery, which they had enjoyed in their native land ; and as the
soil was adapted to the cotton cultivation, they became restless
under the requirement of the Government, either to till it them
selves, or honestly to pay those who tilled it for them. Hence they
conceived the idea of transferring their allegiance from Mexico
to another republic less tenacious of human rights. Nor was a
large portion of that other repubhc less anxious to acquire a
new market for slaves, and a new territory which would give to
the slave-holding interest a preponderance in the national coun
cils. Judge Upshur, in 1829, remarked in the Virginia Conven
tion : " If Texas should be obtained, which he strongly desired,
it would raise the price of slaves, and be a great advantage to
the slave-holders in that State." Mr. Doddridge, another mem
ber, said, " The acquisition of Texas will greatly enhance the
value of the property in question." Debates, p. 89. And in
1832, Mr. Gholston declared in the Virginia Legislature, that
" he believed the acquisition of Texas would raise the price of
slaves fifty per cent, at least." Virginia, it will be recollected,
is a breeding State, and therefore interested in the opening of a

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 333
new market. The planting States have no wish to raise the
price of slaves, but are deeply concerned for the perpetuity of
the system. One of their distinguished politicians published a
series of essays on the policy of annexing Texas to the United
States : a territory which, he contended, was large enough to
be divided into NINE SLAVE STATES, which would coun
terbalance the increasing number of free States at the North.
The Federal Government, ever ready to promote the slave-
holding interest, commenced a negotiation for the purchase of
Texas, and offered four millions of dollars for the territory.*
The offer was promptly rejected, and other means were re
sorted to.
Texan land companies were formed at the North, for the sale
of extensive tracts of land, said to have been obtained by grants
from the Mexican Government. Capitalists, politicians, and
demagogues participated in these splendid schemes of specula
tion, and became vociferous in the cause of Texan hberty. At
the same time, crowds of emigrants repaired to the territory,
many carrying their slaves with them. At last, these men, feel
ing themselves strong enough, raised the standard of rebellion
in September, 1835, and on the 2d of the succeeding March,
issued their declaration of independence. The Mexicans, of
course, endeavored to quell the insurrection ; but, although nom
inally fighting with their own subjects, they were in fact con
tending against an invasion from the United States. The truth
of this assertion will scarcely be questioned : yet it may be well
to support it by a few facts. The following' extracts from the
journals of the day, will, it is presumed, be sufficient :
"Who will go to Texas? — Major J. W. Harvey of Lincolnton has
been authorized by me, with the consent of Major-General Hunt, an
agent in the western counties of North Carolina, to receive and enroll
volunteer emigrants to Texas ; and will conduct such as may wish to
emigrate to that Republic, about the 1st of October next, at the ex
pense of the Republic of Texas.
J. P. Henderson,
Brig. Gen. of the Texan Army."
North Carolina Paper.
* See instructions from Mr. Van Buren, Secretary of State, to Mr. Poin
sett, Minister to Mexico, August 25, 1829.
29

334 jay's works.
"Three Hundred Men far Texas. — General Dunlapof Tennessee is
about to proceed to Texas, with the above number of men. The
whole corps are now at Memphis. Every man is completely armed,
the corps having been originally raised for the Florida war. This
force, we have no doubt, will be able to carry every thing before it."
Vicksburg (Miss.~) Register.
" Since early last winter, a series of transactions has passed before
us in open day, the undisguised object of which has been to enlist
troops, and procure arms to aid the Texans in their war with Mexico.
Troops have been enlisted — arms have been obtained. Their military
parades have been exhibited in our streets — ¦ they have embarked at
our wharf — have proceeded to Texas — united themselves with her
troops, and joined with -them in war against Mexico. Is it not a fact
that every stand of public arms deposited at this place by the State,
has been sent to Texas, with the connivance of those who had charge
of them ? " Cincinnati Gazette.
Meetings were held in various places, and speeches made, and
resolutions passed in favor of the Texan patriots.
At a meeting in Cincinnati, of the friends of Texas, it was
resolved :
" That no law, either human or divine, except such as are formed
by tyrants for their sole benefit, forbids our assisting the Texans ; and
such law, if any exists, we do not as Americans choose to obey."
The Federal Government, far from taking any efficient meas
ures to arrest this invasion of a friendly and neighboring State,
sent an imposing force under Gen. Gaines, into the Mexican ter
ritory, under the pretence of protecting the frontiers ! — with
what result is shown by the following article.
" About the middle of last month, Gen. Gaines sent an officer of the
United States army into Texas, to reclaim some deserters. He found
them already enlisted in the Texan service to the number of two hun
dred. They still wore the uniform of our army, but refused of course
to return. The commander of the Texan army was applied to, to en
force their return, but his only reply was, that the soldiers might go,
but that he had no authority to send them back. This is a new view
of our Texan relations." Pensacola Gazette.
The adventurers • in Texas had no sooner set up for them
selves, than they adopted a constitution, in which they aimed,
first, to secure to themselves and their children for ever, the
blessings of slavery ; and secondly, to acquire the aid and pro
tection of the United States. The first object was to be attained

ACTION OP THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 335
by a constitutional prohibition of both private and legislative
emancipation ; and by making it a fundamental law of the Re
public, that no free black or mulatto person should reside within
its boundaries ; and the second object, by giving to the United
States in perpetuity, a monopoly of the slave-market in Texas,
— the importation of slaves from any other country being abso
lutely prohibited, thus promising to realize the golden visions of
the Virginia breeders.*
A feverish impatience now pervaded the southern States for
the acknowledgment of Texan independence ; — an impatience
in which the northern speculators fully participated. Acknowl
edgment, it was seen, must precede annexation, since the latter
could only be effected by a treaty with Texas as an independent
power. Still policy required that this measure should be cau
tiously managed, lest the North should become alarmed at this
scheme for vesting the whole political power of the Union in
the hands of the slave-holders, and the northern members of
Congress be found for once refractory.
Congress met in December, 1836, and on the 22d of the same
month, President Jackson sent them a special message in rela
tion to Texas. He remarked :
"Prudence seems to dictate that we should still stand aloof, and
maintain our present attitude, if not till Mexico, or one of the great
foreign powers shall recognize the independence of the new Govern
ment, at least until the lapse of time, or the course of events shall have
proved beyond all cavil or dispute the ability of that country to maintain
their separate sovereignty, and to uphold the Government constituted bv
them." "
•To aid the deception intended to be practised on these breeders, the
President of Texas issued his proclamation April 3, 1836, declaring that
" Whereas the African slave-trade is equally revolting to the best feelings of
our nature and to the benign principles of the Christian religion : is destruc
tive to national morals and to individual humanity : " therefore, all officers
were commanded to be vigilant in suppressing the African slave-trade. This
precious piece of hypocrisy was worthy of the new Republic. On the 1st of
January, 1836, the British Commissioners at Havana informed their Gov
ernment, "within the last six weeks, considerable sums of money have been
deposited by American citizens in certain mercantile houses, for the purpose
ot making additional purchases of negroes for Texas." Buxton, in his late
work, says, » I have been informed on high authority that within the last
twelve months (1837-8,) 15,000 negroes were imported from Africa into Tex-
¦ ' *?' f0-,. | be s«gar planters of Louisiana, as we have seen, are complain
ing that while they are compelled to import slaves from Virginia at 81000 a
head, the Texan planters are importing them direct from Africa at half

336 jay's works.
This message dissipated all apprehensions on the part of the
friends of freedom, of a speedy acknowledgment, and reheved -
Congress from the remonstrances and petitions with which their
tables would otherwise have been loaded.
It was obvious, however, that if we could contrive to become
embroiled in a war with Mexico, we might then seize upon
Texas, and hold it by right of conquest, without any violation
of our neutral obligations : and that by this process, the annex
ation might be effected with even more facility than by a com
pact with Texas as an independent power. Accordingly, about
two weeks after the late message, the President sent another to
Congress on our grievances against Mexico — grievances about
which the people at large knew and cared nothing. This mes
sage recommended the passage of a law authorizing the Presi
dent to employ a naval force against Mexico if she refused " to
come to an amicable adjustment of the matters in controversy
between us, upon another demand thereof, made from on board
one of our vessels of war on the coast of Mexico." This propo
sition was coldly received, neither Congress nor the nation
seeming to approve of such a novel and summary way of declar
ing war ; and no one having the slightest desire for war, except
those who were anxious for the annexation. It being found
that a war could not be had, another game was played. The
session was to close on the 3d of March. The strongest oppo
sition to Texas was to be apprehended in the Lower House.
Four days before the termination of the session, a motion was
there made to add a clause to the appropriation bill, making
provision for the salary of a diplomatic agent to Texas. There
was no time for long speeches, and the motion was adopted with
the amendment " to be sent by the President whenever he shall
receive satisfactory evidence that Texas is an independent power,
and shall see fit to open a diplomatic intercourse with her."
The late message proved that the President had not yet received
"the satisfactory evidence," and anticipated it only from the
action of the great foreign powers, or " the lapse of time." Little
hesitation, therefore, was felt in leaving the subject under the
control of the Executive. The House of Representatives, in

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 337
which there was a majority of northern member's, having been
thus managed, and a salary secured for a Minister to Texas,
the veil was thrown aside in the Senate, and two days before
the end of the session, it was
" Resolved, That the State of Texas having established and main
tained an independent government, capable of performing those duties,
foreign and domestic, which appertain to independent governments,
and it appearing that there is no longer any reasonable prospect of the
successful termination of the war by Mexico against said State; it is
expedient and proper, and in conformity with the laws of nations and
the precedents of this Government in like cases, that the independent
political existence of said State be acknowledged by the Government
of the United States."
As the whole tenor of this resolution was in direct opposition
to the message of the 22d of December, and as nothing had
occurred since that date to weaken the positions assumed in the
message, one of the senators in opposing the resolution, very
naturally alluded to the views entertained by the President. On
this, Mr. Walker, a senator from Mississippi, rose in his place
and declared, that " he had it from the Presidents own lips, that
if he were a senator, he would vote for this resolution ! ! "
At eleven o'clock of the night of the 3d of March, an hour
before his term of office expired, and just as the Senate was
about adjourning, the President sent them the nomination of a
Minister to Texas ! !
The conduct of the Federal Government towards Texas and
Hayti, places in a strong light the influence of slavery on our
national councils. The latter State has been independent both
in name and in fact for thirty-seven years, yet we still refuse to
recognize her. Twelve months after Texas declared her inde
pendence, she was received by us into the family of nations, and
honored by an interchange of diplomatic agents. For thirty-five
years, the soil of Hayti has not been trodden by an invader;
only ten months before the acknowledgment of Texas, a Mexican
army was carrying terror and destruction through its territory.
That army had indeed been defeated, but another was preparing
to renew the contest. Hayti had long been at peace with all
the world. Mexico claimed Texas as its own, and solemnly
29*

338 jay's WORKS.
avowed its determination to chastise and suppress the revolt.
Hayti achieved her independence after a long and arduous strug
gle with powerful armies, and has a population of a million to
maintain it. Texas, when- acknowledged, could appeal only to
the fortunate result of a single battle as evidence of her national
power, while she had no more than 60,000 inhabitants to con
tend against the eight millions of Mexico. With Hayti, we had
a large and valuable commerce, while our commerce with Texas
was only in expectancy. Yet has slavery estranged pur Gov
ernment from the one nation, and led it to welcome to its em
brace another, incomparably inferior in political strength and
moral worth.
The indecent haste with which Texas was acknowledged, and
the trickery by which the acknowledgment was effected, were
prompted by the desire of annexation. A southern journal
speaks thus frankly on the subject :
" Does any sober observer contend — can he in the face of facts, —
that Texas has substantially, according to the usages of nations, accom- -
plished her independence ¥ Was there not an even chance, to put
the matter on the most favorable footing, that the victory of Jacinto
might this campaign be reversed ? But natural feeling has outstripped
the prudence of our Government, usually discreet and judicious, and
social sympathy has done what political precedent, and possibly expe
diency, might not have sanctioned. The debate in the British Parlia
ment shows how well Stale papers and official ceremonies " (viz., the
President's Message,) " may delude, or seem to delude foreign govern
ments. While Lord Palmerston and O'Connell were defending our
Government from any improper haste in acknowledging the indepen
dence of Texas, the deed is consummated." The Port Gibson {Miss.')
Southerner. The whole slave region, with scarcely an exception, demanded
a union with the new State. " The very reasons," said the
Charleston Mercury, "so intemperately urged by the North
against it, that it will increase the political weight of the south
ern States, and perpetuate and extend the curse of slavery, are
our best reasons for it." (
The Legislatures of South Carolina, Mississippi, and Ten
nessee, all passed resolutions in favor of the annexation. Many
individuals at the North had likewise a deep pecuniary interest
in the question. They had speculated largely in Texas lands,

ACTION OF THE "GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

339

but their titles would be of but little value, so long as they
depended on the faith of the lawless adventurers who possessed
the country. Could that country be received into the Union,
and subjected to the acts of Congress and the jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court, their purchases might ensure to themselves or
their famihes, princely estates. A writer in the Salem Gazette,
(Mass.) probably a speculator, in vindicating the annexation,
thus appealed to the avarice of New England :
" It is calculated that the value of one kind of property in the South,
slaves, will be enhanced so much, that that portion of our country will
realize one or two hundred millions of dollars ; and the South cannot
be enriched without benefiting the North — the money will naturally
come here at last."
The people of Texas were no less desirous of annexation
than southern slave-holders, or northern speculators. The plan
of union was avowed from almost the very commencement of
the rebellion. In August, 1836, S. F. Austin, in an address
offering himself as a candidate for the Presidency, told the
people : — "I am in favor of the „ annexation, and will do all in
my power to effect it with the least possible delay." W. H.
Jack, a candidate for the Legislature, declared : " I am decidedly
and unequivocally in favor of annexing Texas to the United
States." Gen. Houston, the Commander-in-chief, intimated that
"the annexation was essential to the interests of the new
country." The Texan Congress resolved, " that the President
of the Republic of Texas be empowered and authorized to
despatch a commissioner or commissioners to the United States
of America, to obtain a negotiation of our independence, and
enter into a treaty with that Government for a union on a foot
ing with the original States." The first condition prescribed for
this proposed union, was, "the free and unmolested
AUTHORITY OVER THEIR SLAVE POPULATION ! "
On the 4th of August, 1837, the negotiation was opened by
the Texan Minister at Washington, by a proposition " to unite
the two people under one and the same government." The
acceptance of this proposition would of course have been equiva
lent to a declaration of war against Mexico ; a responsibility

340 JAY'S WORK9.
which Mr. Van Buren did not see fit to assume, especially in
the recess of Congress. He declined entering into the negotia
tion, on the grounds that the United States were at present at
peace with Mexico, and that that power had not acknowledged
the independence of Texas. As this answer merely postponed
the annexation on account of an obstacle easily removed, it was
entirely satisfactory to the South; and the n^ore so as the
President's message to Congress on the 4th of the ensuing
December wore a very belligerent aspect towards Mexico.
This formal attempt at annexation roused the fears of the
North, and innumerable remonstrances against the measure
were presented to Congress. In the meantime Mexico, by pro
posing a submission of her differences with the United States tp
arbitration, removed all pretence for immediate war. Under
these circumstances, the southern delegation in Congress thought
it most prudent not to press the annexation. The Texans,
moreover, finding themselves unmolested by Mexico, who had-
become involved in war with France, and observing the strong
hostility manifested towards the measure in the United States,
formally withdrew her application for admission into the Union.
It is folly, however, to suppose that the project of annexation
is abandoned, either by the South or by Texas ; nor does it
need the gift of prophecy to foresee that the first favorable
opportunity of making war upon Mexico, will be readily em
braced by the Federal Government., Should such a war be
effected, the dominion of the whip may perhaps be extended
from Maryland to Panama.
It may not be amiss here to compare the conduct of the
Federal Government towards the Texan and the Canadian
rebels. The first were slave-holders reestablishing slavery on a
soil from which it had been banished ; and they enjoyed from
the first the sympathy of our government, who took care to
interpose no real obstacle to an invasion on their behalf from
the United States : , while for the purpose of aiding them it
labored to excite an immediate war with Mexico. The Canadian
rebels were professedly fighting for hberty, and should they
succeed, there was no probability that negro slavery would

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 341
crown their triumph. They, like the Texans, looked to us for
aid ; but the President, note alive to the obligations of neu
trality, and finding the existing laws insufficient to enforce them,
applied to Congress, and received additional powers. Troops
were sent to the frontiers, not to swell by desertion the ranks of
the rebels, but in good faith, forcibly to prevent American
citizens from aiding the revolt. No attempt was ever made to
punish any of the abettors of the Texan rebels ; but the
judicial as well as the military power of the Government was
exerted to enforce the duties of neutrality on the Canadian
frontier; and indictments and trials and imprisonments have
taught the impressive lesson, that American citizens may not
with impunity make war upon a friendly nation, except for the
purpose of trampling upon the rights of man.
" While Mackenzie and Case are lying in a solitary dungeon, for
attempting to liberate Canada, the Texan agent is openly enlisting
men at Buffalo, to serve in an expedition against Mexico." Lewiston
Telegraph. But hear the confession of the official journal of the adminis
tration :
" There is"no doubt, we believe, that vessels of war oi light draught of
water— brigs and schooners — are preparing in the United States, for
Texas, to be commanded by young officers of the American Navy."
Washington Globe.
Yet not a finger has been raised to prevent these hostile and
illegal armaments. The truth is, a war with Mexico is ardently
desired by the slave-holders, and the President was for nego
tiating on board an armed vessel. A war with Great Britain,
emphatically an anti-slavery nation, is now viewed with horror
and dismay by the whole South,* and the Executive has sedu
lously endeavored to avoid it.
We have now presented numerous instances of the action of
the Federal Government in behalf of slavery; but our task is
not completed. We are still to view that Government, which,
in* mfr8^!^4 B01i?le^n se"ator> speaking of the importance of preserv
er Si? ft™ ^ iRanada frontier, declared that in his opinion "a
wuntey " England would be tlle heaviest calamity that could befall the

342 jay's works. ¦
in the language of the Constitution, was established " to secure
the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, " assail
ing the constitutional rights of the citizen, in order to rivet the
fetters of the slave ; striving to extinguish the freedom of the
press, the freedom of debate, and the right of petition, to per
petuate property in human flesh. These, we are sensible, are
strong assertions : we solicit attention to the facts on which they
are founded, and first to

THE ATTEMPT OP THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH A
CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS.
In the summer of 1835, the Anti-Slavery Society in New
York, directed their publisher to forward a number of their
periodical papers, containing facts and disquisitions on the
6ubject of slavery, to various southern gentlemen of distinction,
in the hope of exciting by this means, a spirit of inquiry among
persons of influence and character. But it was precisely such a
spirit of inquiry, that the advocates of perpetual bondage feared
might be fatal to their favorite institution. Hence they affected
to believe that the papers sent to the masters, were intended to
excite the slaves to insurrection, and they succeeded in madden
ing the populace to fury. A mob broke into the Charleston
Post Office, and seizing a quantity of anti-slavery papers, burned
them in the street. This outrage was virtually approved by
the City Council ; and at a pubhc meeting, a committee of
"gentlemen" was appointed to take charge of the northern
mail on its arrival, accompany it to the Post Office, and see that
no papers advocating the rights of man should be delivered to
their owners. The Postmaster informed the head of the de
partment, that under existing circumstances, he had determined
to suppress all anti-slavery publications, and asked for instruc
tions for the future. It should here be recollected, that of all the
political advisers of the President, Mr Kendall, at this time
acting as Postmaster- General, was the most odious to the oppo
site party. He had been appointed during the recess of the

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

343

Senate, and it was regarded as a matter of course, that on the
meeting of that body, in which the opposition had a majority,
his nomination would be rejected. The Constitution forbade a
censorship of the press, and had the people been disposed to
delegate so formidable a power, they certainly would not have
vested it in the 10,000 deputies of the Postmaster-General.
The law moreover expressly required every postmaster to
deliver the papers received by him to the persons to whom
they were directed.
Such were the circumstances under which Mr. Kendall
returned his famous answer. After stating that not having seen
the papers in question, he could not judge of their character, but
had been informed that they were incendiary, inflammatory and
insurrectionary, he added :
"By no act or direction of mine, official or private, could I be in
duced to-aid knowingly in giving circulation to papers of this description,
directly or indirectly. We owe an obligation to the laws, but a higher
one to the communities in which we live ; and if the former be per
verted to destroy the latter, it is patriotism to disregard them. Enter
taining these views, I cannot sanction and will not condemn the step
you have taken."
This letter taught the Senate that the new officer was willing
to conduct the Post Office in a manner calculated to protect the
"domestic institution" from the assaults of truth and argu
ment, and his nomination was confirmed. Mr. Kendall was at
the date of his letter, a member of the Cabinet, and it was
understood that the novel, extraordinary, and dangerous doc
trine of that letter received the sanction of the President.
On the opening of Congress, President Jackson in his message
recommended the " passing of such a law as will prohibit under
severe penalties, the circulation in the southern States through
the mails, of incendiary publications intended to instigate the
slaves to insurrection." The proposed law, it seems,- was not to
prohibit the printing of certain papers, nor their committal to the
mails in the northern States, but only their circulation in the
slave-region. Of course certain persons, — postmasters, we
presume, — were to be required, under "heavy penalties," to
stop these papers ; and they were necessarily to be judges of

344 jay's works.
the character of the papers, and of the intentions of their writers.
From what code of despotism did our very democratic President
derive his plan for destroying the efficiency of the Press ? By
a contemptible quibble, this plan was to evade the constitutional
guaranty of the freedom of the press. It was not to interfere
with the press — not at all — it was merely to prevent the cir
culation of its productions ! The press was still to be free to
pour forth its arguments against slavery, only "heavy penal
ties " were to prevent the people from reading them ! The
reason moreover assigned for this proposed high-handed act of
tyranny, was a most malignant and wilful calumny. It was to
prevent the circulation in the southern States of publications
intended to excite the slaves to insurrection. Such a proposal
from the first magistrate of the country to Congress, and follow
ing the affair at Charleston, and Mr. Kendall's letter, irresis
tibly fixes upon the members of the Anti-Slavery Society at
New York, the charge of sending papers into the southern
States for the purpose and with the desire of effecting the
massacre of their fellow-citizens. Ii the President really be
lieved that such was the object of the New York abolitionists,
and such the character of their publications, and if he thought
it his official duty to bring the subject before Congress, he owed
it to himself, to the country, to truth and to justice, to have sub
mitted to Congress the facts and documents on which he founded
his proposed invasion of the constitutional rights of his fellow-
citizens. But he cautiously avoided specifying a single fact, or
quoting a single sentence in support of his tremendous accusation,
or in justification of his most unwarrantable proposition ; and
when written to by the acting committee of the New York
Society for proof of his charge against them, he deemed it most
prudent not to return an answer ! Surely the burden of proof
rests upon him who, in a solemn official address to the Legisla
ture, holds up a portion of his fellow-citizens as miscreants
engaged in plotting murder and insurrection, and urges the
enaction of a law to counteract their execrable machinations.
It is often difficult to prove a negative ; but in this instance,
the falsehood of the President's charge is amply demonstrated

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 345
by an official document from the slave-holders themselves. We
give this document, not to exculpate the members of the New
York Society from a calumny which their own characters abun
dantly refute, but to show in a strong light the unprincipled
means to which the Federal Government is capable of resorting
to uphold the " peculiar institution " of the South.
A grand jury in Alabama conceived the bright idea, that the
publication of tracts at the North against slavery might be
arrested by indicting the publishers as felons, and then demand
ing them from the Governors of their respective States as
fugitives from southern justice. It was necessary, however, to
specify in the indictment, the precise crime of which they had
been guilty; a necessity which the President regarded as not
applicable to his message. We may well suppose, therefore,
that the grand jury would endeavor to secure the success of this,
their first experiment, by selecting from the various publications
alluded to by the President and Mr. Kendall, as sent to the
South for the purpose of exciting insurrection, the most insur
rectionary, cut-throat passages, they could find. Behold the
result." f usc'aboi'tun'y. } Circuit Courfc> SePtember Te™< 1835'
The grand jurors, * * * * upon their oath present, that
Robert G. Williams, late of said county, being a wicked, malicious,
seditious, and ill-disposed person, and being greatly disaffected to the
laws and government of said State, and feloniously, wickedly, mali
ciously, and seditiously contriving, devising, and intending to produce
conspiracy, insurrection and rebellion among the slave population of
said State, and to alienate and withdraw the affection, fidelity, and
allegiance of said slaves from their masters and owners, on the tenth
day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-five, at the county aforesaid, feloniously, wickedly, mali
ciously, and seditiously did cause to be distributed, circulated and pub-
fished, a seditious paper, called ' The Emancipator,' in which paper
is published according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say :
'God commands, and all nature cries out, that man should not be held
as property. The system of making met* property, has plunged 2,250,000
of our fellow-countrymen into the deepest physical and moral degrada
tion, and they are every moment sinking deeper.' In open violation of
the Act of the General Assembly in such case made and provided, to

346 jay's works.
the evil and pernicious example of all others in like case offending, and
against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama." *
In the Senate, the recommendation of the President was
referred to a committee, who reported a bill prohibiting post
masters from delivering " any pamphlet, newspaper, handbill, or
other printed paper, or pictorial representation, touching the sub
ject of slavery, in any State in which their circulation is prohib
ited by law." The object of this bill was, by means of federal
legislation, to build around the slave States a rampart against
the assaults of light and truth. Its absurdity was equalled only
by its wickedness. Not a newspaper containing a debate in
Congress, a report from a committee, a message from the Presi
dent, a letter from the West Indies, " touching the subject of
slavery," could be legally delivered from a southern post office ;
and thousands of postmasters were to be employed in opening
envelopes and poring over their contents, to catch a reference
to the " domestic institution."
By this bill, the Federal Government virtually surrendered
to the States, the freedom of the press, and nullified the guaranty
of this inestimable privilege, given by our fathers in the Consti
tution to every citizen. This bill, moreover, prepared the way for
the destruction of civil and religious liberty. If every paper
touching the subject of slavery might be suppressed, then the
same fate might just as constitutionally be awarded to every pa
per touching the conduct of the administration, or the doctrine of
the Trinity. It established a censorship of the press on one
subject, which might afterwards be extended to others. Yet
this bill, absurd and unconstitutional as it was, went through its
regular stages with httle opposition, till the important question
was taken on its engrossment; — the vote stood eighteen to
eighteen. The casting vote was now required from Mr. Van
Buren, who, as Vice President, occupied the chair. He gave it
for the slave-holders, and received from them, at the ensuing
* Another count was added for distributing " The Emancipator," but with
out giving any extracts. It is scarcely necessary to add, that Williams had
never been in Alabama. Yet on this indictment, he was demanded of the
New York Executive as a fugitive felon, by the Governor of Alabama.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 347
election, sixty-one electoral votes, by means of which he became
President of the United States.* On the final question, the bill
was rejected, and this attempt to trammel the press for the pro
tection of slavery, defeated. A very different result, however,
has attended
THE EFFORT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO NULLIFY THE
RIGHT OF PETITION AND THE FREEDOM OF DEBATE.
For thirty years past, petitions have been presented to Con
gress for the abohtion of slavery in the District of Columbia,
and the national territories ; and, until latterly, were received
and treated like other petitions. But having within a few years
prodigiously increased in number, and some northern members
having shown a disposition to advocate their prayer, a most ex
traordinary course has been pursued in relation to them. The
reason of this course is explained by the following passage from
a speech by Mr. Strange, a senator from North Carolina.
" Every agitation of this subject (slavery,) weakens the moral force
in our favor, and breaks down the moral barriers which now serve to
protect and secure us. We have everything to lose and nothing to gain
by agitation and discussion."
The frankness of this confession is as remarkable as its truth
is unquestionable ; and it shows us why the advocates of slavery,
instead of meeting their opponents in argument, have sought to
silence them by brute force and penal enactments.
One of the most unequivocal and undoubted of all constitu
tional rights is that of petition, and it is, moreover, expressly
guaranteed by the Constitution. But this right has been most
audaciously nullified by both branches of the national legisla
ture. The Senate have not, it is true, avowedly refused to
receive anti-slavery petitions, but they have adopted a, course
which answers the same purpose. The practice for some years
past has been to lay the question of reception on the table with-
*The two senators from New York, Messrs. Wright and Tallmadge, polit
ical friends of Mr. Van Buren, supported the bill. It is due to justice to
mention that the bill was finally lost by the votes of several southern
senators.

348 jay's WORKS.
out deciding it, and the question not being in fact received, can
not be discussed, nor any measure respecting it taken. This
course is no less at variance with the constitutional rights of the
petitioners, than it is with those of the members of the Senate.
The rights of petition and freedom of debate are both nulli
ties, if the body to which a prayer is addressed, is prohibited
from listening to it, and the individual members are prohibited
from noticing it. Would it be no violation of the Constitution
were the Senate to order that every petition, " touching the sub
ject of slavery," should be delivered to their doorkeeper, to be
committed by him to the flames ? And yet in what particular
are the rights of the petitioners more respected by the practice
we have mentioned ? The petitions are not indeed burned, but
they are left in the pockets of those to whom they were entrusted ;
and not being received, the Senate is supposed to be ignorant of
their contents, and of course no member is permitted to discuss
their merits, or to propose any measure founded upon them.
Let us now turn to what is regarded as the popular branch, —
the House of Representatives, — intended to be the special
guardian of the liberties of the people, as the Senate is of the
rights of the States.
In May, 1836, a committee reported to the House a resolu
tion, prefaced with this extraordinary avowal :
" Whereas it is extremely important and desirable, that the agita
tion on this subject (slavery) should be finally arrested for the purpose
of restoring tranquillity to the public mind, your committee respectfully
recommend the following resolution."
Here then is an acknowledged, unblushing interference by the
Federal Government, in behalf of slavery ; an avowed interfer
ence to arrest that agitation, which we are assured by Mr.
Strange, " breaks down the moral barriers" which serve to pro
tect and secure a system of iniquitious cruelty and oppression.
To arrest this agitation, the committee did not scruple to recom
mend a measure, breaking down the constitutional barriers
erected to protect and secure the rights and liberties of the peo
ple of the United States. The resolution reported by the com-

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 349
mittee, was adopted by the House on the 26th of May, 1836,
and is in these words :
"Resolved, That all petitions, memorials, and propositions relating in
any way, or to any extent whatever to the subject of slavery, shall with
out being either printed or referred, be laid on the table, and that no
farther action whatever shall be had thereon." Ayes 117 — Nays 68.
It is worthy of remark, that of the ayes, no less than sixty-
two were from the free States 1 The advocates of this resolution,
conscious that it could bear discussion as httle as slavery itself,
caused it to be adopted through the operation of the previous
question, by a silent vote.
We have exhibited the character of slavery and the slave-
trade at the seat of the Federal Government, and have shown
that Congress is the local legislature of the District of Columbia,
having " exclusive jurisdiction over it in all cases whatever."
Now one of the pecuhar atrocities of this resolution is, that it
wrests from every member of the House, his constitutional right
to propose such measures for the government of the District as
justice and humanity may require. Slaves might be burned
alive in the streets of the Capital ; the slavers might be crowded
to suffocation with human victims; every conceivable cruelty
might be practised, and no one member of the local legislature
could be permitted to propose even a committee of inquiry,
" relating in any way, or to any extent whatever, to the subject
of slavery."
The fact that sixty-two northern members on this occasion
arrayed themselves on the side of the slave-holders, affords a
melancholy and alarming proof of the corrupting influence which
slavery is exerting on the morality and patriotism of the free
States. The foolish and wicked expedient to " restore tranquillity " to
the people, by trampling on their rights and gagging their rep
resentatives, failed of success. The petitioners at this session
were 34,000 — at the next the number was swelled to one hun
dred and ten thousand ! and the gag was renewed. During
the session of 1837-8, the number rose to three hundred
thousand. Early in the last mentioned session, a member
30*

350 jay's works.
from Vermont presented a petition for the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia, and took the hberty to offer some
remarks on the subject of slavery. This attempt to break down
" the moral barriers," thew the southern members into great
trepidation, and the scene which ensued illustrates the system
of intimidation to which we have already adverted. The mem
ber was interrupted by a gentleman from Virginia, calling aloud,
and asking his colleagues to retire with him from the hall ; —
another from Georgia exclaimed, that.he hoped the whole south
ern delegation would do the same ; — a third from South Carolina
declared, that all the representatives from that State " had
already signed an agreement." The House adjourned, and a
southern member invited the gentlemen from the slave-holding
States to meet immediately in an adjoining room. The meeting
was held, but its proceedings were not made pubhc. The result,
however, was manifested in the introduction, next morning, of
another gag resolution, directing all memorials, petitions and
papers touching the abolition of slavery in the national territo
ries, and the American slave-trade, to be laid on the table,
without being printed, read, debated, or referred, and that no
farther action should be had thereon. Through the acquiescence
of northern members, it was passed by a-silent vote.
At the beginning of the next session, a meeting of the admin
istration members was held, at which it was determined to renew
the gag : and as a proof of the devotion of the Democratic
party at the North to the cause of slavery, it was arranged that
now, for the first time, the odious measure should be proposed
by a northern man : nay, not merely a northern man, but a
native of New England — a representative from New Hamp
shire. The resolution was accordingly introduced, and was
passed on the 12th of December, 1838, and has given notoriety
to the name of Atherton.
Thus we see a persevering, systematic effort on the part of
Congress to protect slavery by suppressing debate, and throw
ing contempt upon the petitions of hundreds of thousands of
American citizens. That this should be done by slave-holders
was perhaps to be expected ; but that they should be aided in

action of the general government. 351
such a desperate assault upon constitutional liberty by northern
men, for the paltry consideration of southern votes and southern
trade, is mortifying and alarming. The meeting of extremes is
a trite illustration of human inconsistency. If in Doctor John
son's time the loudest yelps for liberty were heard from the
drivers of slaves, the loudest yelps in the northern States
against aristocracy, chartered monopolies and oppression of the
poor, are now heard from men who are laboring to perpetuate
the bondage of millions, by gag laws and restrictions on the
freedom of speech and the press. These men are acting from
party views, and are rushing to battle under the war-cry of
" Van Buren and Slavery," in hopes, through southern aux
iliaries, of enjoying the spoils of victory. Others again, with
out the slightest sympathy in the political principles of these
men, and with their ears stuffed, and their heart padded with
cotton, are cooperating with them in behalf of slavery, from
their love of southern trade.* We will here close our protracted
investigation with a brief
RECAPITULATION OF THE ACTION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERN
MENT IN BEHALF OF SLAVERY.
This action we have found exhibited (omitting constitutional
provisions), 1. In its appointments to office.
2. In its legislation for Florida.
* The following are strong and amusing instances of the meeting of ex
tremes. In the spring of 1837, the Whig merchants of New York sent a
deputation to Washington, to request the President to adopt certain meas
ures to relieve the commercial embarrassments of the country. The request
was declined, and a great meeting was convened to receive the report of the
deputation. The report, which was adopted by the meeting, recommended
efforts to displace Mr. Van Buren, and as one means of effecting this
object, exhorted the merchants to " appeal to our brethren of the South for
their generous cooperation ; and promise them that those who believe the
possession of property of any kind" (not excepting men, women, and chil
dren,) " is an evidence of merit, will be the last to interfere with the rights
of property of any kind ; discourage any effort to awaken an excitement, the
bare idea of which should make every husband and father shudder with horror."
In plain English, if the slave-holders would make common cause with the
New York merchants against Mr. Van Buren, they in return would make
common cause with the slave-holders against the abolitionists. But Dem
ocrats know the value of southern votes quite as well as the Whigs. Accord
ingly we find in the- Washington Globe of February 9, 1839, a speech intended
to have been delivered, but prevented by the gag resolution, by Mr. Eli

352 jay's WORKS.
3. In its interference in behalf of the slave-holders in Louis
iana. 4. In its efforts to degrade the free people of color.
5. In its tolerance of slavery in territories under its exclusive
jurisdiction. 6. In its arbitrary, unconstitutional, and wicked laws for the
arrest of fugitive slaves.
7. In its negotiation with Great Britain and Mexico for the
surrender of fugitive slaves.
8. In its invasion of Florida, in pursuit of fugitive slaves.
9. In its negotiations with Great Britain for compensation for
slaves who had taken refuge on board British ships-of-war.
10. In its negotiation with Great Britain for compensation
for slaves shipwrecked in the West Indies.
11. In its tolerance, protection, and regulation of the Ameri
can slave-trade.
12. In its duplicity, with regard to the abohtion of the African
slave-trade.
Moore, a double-refined Democrat, President of the New York Trades
Union, and representative from that city in Congress. This gentleman tells
us " the wild, enthusiastic, and impetuous spirit which kindled the fires of
Smithfield, and strewed the plains of Palestine with the corses of the cru
saders, stands with lighted and uplifted torch hard by the side of aboli
tionism, ready to spread conflagration and death around the land ; " he
declares that " so long as the Democratic or State Bights party shall main
tain the ascendency, the efforts of the abolitionists will be comparatively
innoxious ; " and he announces what will be no less news to the New York
merchants than it is to abolitionists, that " the Federal or National Bank
Party believe the Federal Legislature not only have the power to abolish
slavery in this District of Columbia, but also in the States."
Almost immediately after the publication of this speech, the Democratic
papers contained the following announcement : — " Just and merited. — The
Hon. Eli Moore, of the City of New York, has been appointed surveyor of
that port." The reward was paid by the President and Senate.
But the most extraordinary instance of the devotion of northern Democ
racy to southern despotism, we have yet met with, was lately given in the
City of New York. A set of men, calling themselves " delegates of the
Democratic republican party (.' .') for the several wards," assembled to make
preparations for commemorating the declaration that " all men are born free
and equal." They resolved to have an orator for the occasion ; but so ardent
and sublimated was their love of liberty, that no northern Democrat was
worthy, in their opinion, to declaim before them on the " self-evident truths,"
and the blessing of the Federal Union. So they selected for their Fourth of
July orator, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, who had evinced his
attachment to the Union by his efforts to excite civil war — to the liberties
of his country, by his gag resolutions, and his bill establishing a censorship
of the press — and to the rights of man, by his avowed desire for the ever
lasting bondage of millions of his fellow-men. The presidential election is
approaching, the vote of South Carolina is doubtful, and a compliment to
Mr. Calhoun may not be useless to Mr. Van Buren.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 353
13. In its present virtual toleration of the trade.
14. In its appropriations to the Colonization Society.
15. In its Indian treaties in behalf of slave-holders.
16. In its attempted expulsion of the Seminoles for harboring
fugitive slaves.
17. In its efforts to prevent the abolition of slavery in Cuba.
18. In its conduct towards Hayti.
19. In its conduct towards Texas.
20. In its attempt to establish a censorship of the press.
21. In its invasion of the right of petition, and the freedom
of debate.
Such has been the action in behalf of human bondage, of a
Government which, in the language of the Constitution, was
formed to establish justice, and secure the blessings of liberty.
And by whom are the men composing the Government, which
thus perverts the objects of its institution, invested with their
power ? They are the agents, the mere instruments of the peo
ple of the United States — of the North and the East, as well
as of the West and the South. This consideration calls us to
consider the responsibility of the free states.
The advocates of slavery and the tools of party, are continu
ally telling us that " the North has nothing to do with slavery."
A volume might be filled with facts, proving the fallacy of this
assertion. There is scarcely a family among us that is not con
nected, by the ties of friendship, kindred, or pecuniary interest,
with the land of slaves. That land is endeared to us by a
thousand recollections — with that land we have continual com
mercial, political, religious, and social intercourse. There, in
innumerable instances, are our personal friends, our brothers,
our sons and our daughters. How malignant and foolish then is
the falsehood, that the thousands and tens of thousands of abo
litionists among us, are anxious to see that land reeking in blood ]
But the more intimate are our connections with that land, the

354 jay's works.
more exposed are we to be contaminated by its pollutions ; and
the more imperatively are we bound to seek its real welfare.
Let it then sink deep in our hearts — let it rest upon our con
sciences, that in every wicked and cruel act of the Federal Gov
ernment in behalf of slavery, the people of the North have
participated, — we might almost say that for all this wickedness
and cruelty, they are solely responsible ; since it could not have
been perpetrated but with the consent of their representatives.
Vast and fertile territories, which might now have been inhabited
by a free and happy population, have by northern votes been
converted, to use the langauge of the poet, into
" A land of tyrants, and a den of slaves."
By northern senators have our African slavers been protected
from the search of British cruisers. By northern representa
tives is the American slave-trade protected, and the abominations
enacted in the Capital of the Republic, sanctioned and perpet
uated : and northern men are the officiating ministers in the
sacrifice of constitutional hberty on the altar of Moloch. But
representatives are only the agents of their constituents, speaking
their thoughts, and doing their will. The people of the
North have done " this great wickedness." When they repent,
when they love mercy, and seek after justice, their ..representa
tives will no longer rejoice to aid in transforming the image of
God into a beast of burden — then will the human shambles be
overthrown in the Capital — then will slavers, " freighted with
despair," no longer depart from the port of Alexandria, nor
chained conies traverse the streets of Washington. Then will
the powers of the Federal Government be exercised in protect
ing, not in annihilating the rights of man ; and then will the
slave-holder, deprived of the countenance of the free States, as
he is already of nearly all the rest of the civilized world, be led
to reflect calmly on the character and tendency of the institution
he now so dearly prizes, and seek his own welfare and that of
his children in its voluntary and peaceful abohtion.
But here we are confronted with direful prophecies. Let us
then proceed to inquire into

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 355
THE PROBABLE INFLUENCE OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY AGITATION
ON THE PERMANENCY OF THE UNION.
Before we can predict what this influence will be, we must
first inquire, what will probably be the direction and aim of the
agitation ? Every State possesses all the powers of independent
sovereignty, except such as she has delegated to the Federal
Government. All the powers not specified in the Constitution
as delegated, are by that instrument reserved. Among the
powers specified, that of abrogating the slave codes of the
several States is not included ; on the contrary, the guaranty of
the continuance of the African slave-trade for twenty years, the
provision for the arrest of fugitive slaves, and the establish
ment of the federal ratio of representation, all refer to and
acknowledge the existence of slavery under State authority. If,
therefore, the abohtionists, unmindful of their solemn and re
peated disclaimers of all power in Congress to legislate for the
abohtion of slavery in the States, should, with unexampled per
fidy, attempt to bring about such legislation, and if Congress,
regardless of their oaths, should ever be guilty of the consum
mate folly and wickedness of passing a law emancipating the
slaves held under State authority, the Union would most unques
tionably be rent in twain. The South would indeed be craven
could it submit to such profligate usurpation ; it would be com
pelled to withdraw, not for the preservation of slavery alone,
but for the protection of all its rights ; and indeed the liberties
of every State would be jeoparded under a government, which,
spurning all constitutional restraints, should assume the omnipo
tence of the British Parliament. But it is scarcely worth while
to anticipate the consequence of an act which can never be per
petrated so long as the people of the North retain an ordinary
share of honesty and intelligence.
We have, under all the circumstances of the case, sufficient
reasons for believing that the anti-slavery of the North will
Carry its action to the very limits of the Constitution, but not
beyond them. In despite of the coalitions of parties and the
intrigues of politicians, hberty of speech and of the press will

356 jay's WORKS.
be maintained, and the discussion of slavery will be extended
by the very efforts made to arrest it. Let us suppose this dis
cussion to be attended with its natural and probable result, the
conversion of the great mass of the northern people to the prin
ciples and avowed objects of the abohtionists. Of course, those
principles and objects will be embraced by their representatives
in Congress. In this case, we may expect that slavery will be
abolished in the District of Columbia, and that it will be pro
hibited in the territories hereafter to be formed on the west of
the Mississippi. Thus far the constitutional power of Congress
cannot be rationally questioned. Independent of the exclusive
jurisdiction over the territories granted to Congress, we have
the precedent of the ordinance of 1787, prohibiting slavery in
the Northwest Territory, and the more recent precedent of the
prohibition of it in the Louisiana territory north of 3610 of north
latitude. The American slave-trade is now, and has been for
upwards of thirty years, prohibited in vessels under forty tons'
burden. It would not be easy to show that the Constitution
forbids its prohibition in vessels over forty tons' burden. We
may therefore take it for granted, that the Senate's coasting trade
will be legally abolished. Should the land traffic not be also
destroyed, it would not be for want of disposition, or constitu
tional power in Congress, but on account of the extreme diffi
culty which would exist in preventing evasions of the law.
We have now the sum total of national legislation which, on
our present supposition, will result from the anti-slavery action
at the North. Yet we are positively assured that such legisla
tion would cause a dissolution of the Union.* Now admitting
the constitutional right and the moral obligation of our national
legislators, to pass the laws in question, it would be difficult to
decide by what code of morals they could be excused from the
discharge of their duty by the apprehension of consequences.
If God governs the world, more is to be feared from rebellion,
than from obedience to his will. If his wisdom and goodness
are both infinite, his will is and must be an infallible standard
of expediency. If it be folly to barter a single soul for the
whole world, would it be wise to expose a nation to the wrath of

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

357

Heaven, for a boon which we now hold, and would continue to
hold at the pleasure of men who are daily threatening to deprive
us of it ? i
But we have no fears that Congress will ever find the faithful
discharge of their duty conflicting with the welfare and preserva
tion of the Union. How far selfish and influential individuals
may succeed in raising up at the South a party for secession, it is
impossible to predict ; but it is not difficult to show that a separa
tion founded on the legislation we have specified, would be most
preposterous and disastrous, and therefore we may reasonably
presume it will not occur.
Should the slave States secede, they would do so, we may
suppose, for one or more of the following reasons, viz. :
1. To protect their rights from invasion. '
2. To guard and perpetuate the institution of slavery.
3. To increase their wealth and power.
The North is the strongest portion of the confederacy ; and
whenever, unmindful of the federal compact, it wickedly and
forcibly usurps power to the prejudice of the South, secession
is the only resource left to the latter for the protection of its
rights. But a disregard to the wishes, does not necessarily imply
a violation of the rights of the South. Not one of the measures
we have contemplated as the probable result of the anti-slavery
agitation, encroaches on the constitutional rights of the South ;
and therefore secession, however it might be professedly justified,
would in fact be prompted by other motives than that of self-
defence. But so long as the Federal Government confines its
action against slavery within the limits of the Constitution, in
what way would secession tend to guard and perpetuate the
institution ?
It is natural that the slave-holders should wish to destroy the
influence of the abolitionists, and hence they have very unjusti
fiably expressed fears respecting them which they do not feel,
and circulated calumnies which they do not believe. The idir
lowing admissions reveal the true nature of the apprehensions
entertained by the slave-holders. ; i
31

358 jay's WORKS.
Mr. Calhoun, alluding in the Senate to opinions expressed
by some of his southern colleagues, exclaimed :
" Do they expect the abolitionists will resort to arms, and commence
a crusade to liberate our slaves by force ? Is this what they mean when
they speak of the attempt to abolish slavery ? If so, let me tell our
friends of the South who differ from us, that the war which the aboli
tionists wage against us, is of a very different character, and far more
effective — it is waged not against our lives, but our character."
Mr. Duff Green, the editor of the United States Telegraph,
and the great champion of slavery, thus expressed himself in
his paper:
" We are of those who believe the South has nothing to fear from a
servile war. We do not believe that the abolitionists intend, nor could
they if they would, excite the slaves to insurrection. The danger of
this is remote. We believe that we have most to fear from the organ
ized action upon the consciences and fears of the slave-holders them
selves ; from the insinuation of their dangerous heresies into our
schools, our pulpits, and our domestic circles. It is only by alarming
the consciences of the weak and feeble, and diffusing among our people
a morbid sensibility on the question of slavery, that the abolitionists
can accomplish their object." *
We would now respectfully submit to Mr. Calhoun's consider
ation, whether a secession would tend in any way to defend the
characters of slave-holders from the war he contends is waged
against them ; or fortify their consciences against the " danger
ous heresies" by which they are assailed.
The new slave-nation would acquire from her separate inde
pendence, no new power to darken the understandings, or
benumb the consciences of her citizens. The freedom of the
press throughout the whole slave-region, is already extin
guished.! Not one single newspaper, from Maryland to Florida,
*The New York Whig merchants may learn from this candid avowal, that
the "bare idea " of the abolition excitement does not make every " husband
and father shudder with horror " at the South, whatever it may do in Wall
street. f This assertion will not probably be denied, still it may not be amiss to
adduce southern proof of its truth. The Missouri Argus, published at St
Louis, speaking, in April, 1839, of an editor in Ohio, remarked : " Mr. Ham
mond deems the cooperation of the Eastern fanatics to be all-important to
the success of Whiggery, and fears that the timid course of his brother edi
tors on this subject may be productive of mischief. He should recollect,
however, that the abolition editors in slave States will not dare to avow
their opinions. It would be INSTANT DEATH to them.:'

action of the general government. 359
dares to raise its voice in favor of immediate emancipation ;
and a southern publication, for expressing views unfavorable to
slavery, notwithstanding its bitter denunciations of abolitionists,
was lately taken from a post-office in Virginia, and in pursuance
of the laws of the State, committed to the flames by order of the
public authorities ; and when the laws are silent, Lynch clubs
are ready to visit with infamous and cruel penalties the man
who presumes to advocate the inalienable rights of man. What
new ramparts could the southern confederacy, build around their
beloved institution? What new weapons could they forge
against freedom of discussion ?
At the North, the discussion of slavery is now greatly
restricted by political and mercenary considerations ; but such
considerations would be dissipated in a moment by secession.
The very demagogues who are now fawning upon the slave
holders for their votes, would, when they had no longer votes to
bestow, seek popularity in ultra hatred to slavery.
The anti-slavery agitation at the North is at present chiefly
confined to the religious portion of the community ; it would
then extend to all classes, and be embittered by national ani
mosity. Slavery would appear more odious and detestable than
ever, after having destroyed the fair fabric of American Union,
and severed the ties of kindred and of friendship, to rivet more
firmly the fetters of the bondman.
The slave-holders are now our fellow countrymen and
citizens ; they would then be foreigners who had discarded our
friendship and connection, that they might trample with more
unrestrained violence upon the rights and liberties of their
fellow-men. These considerations show that any expectation of
extinguishing or weakening the anti-slavery feeling at the
North by separation, must be utterly futile.
A separation would, moreover, deprive the institution of the
protection of the Federal Government. Should the slaves
attempt to revolt, the masters would be left to struggle with
them, unaided by the fleets and armies of the whole Bepublic.
And by what power would the master recapture his fugitive
who had crossed the boundary of the new empire ? Now he

360

JAY'S WORKS.

may hunt him through the whole confederacy, nor is the
trembling wretch secure of his liberty, till he beholds the Brit
ish standard waving above him. Then freedom would be the
boon of every slave who could swim the Ohio, or reach the
frontier line of the free republic. And this frontier line, be it
remembered, would be continually advancing South. The anti-
slavery feelings of the North, aggravated as they would be by
the secession, would afford every possible facility to the fugitive,
and laws would then be passed, not for the restoration of human
property, but for the protection of human rights.
Would the dissolution of the Union afford the southern
planters a more unrestricted enjoyment of the foreign or
domestic slave-trade ? Alas ! from the moment of separation,
slave-trading becomes piracy in fact, as well as in name, and
the crews of New Orleans and Alexandria, as well as of African
slavers, would swing on northern gibbets.
We confess then our utter inability to perceive in what
possible mode a secession of the southern States would tend to
guard and perpetuate the institution of slavery.
Would a dissolution of the Union augment the power and
wealth of the slave States ? The power and wealth of a nation
depend on its population, industry and commerce. The increase
of the white population at the South is now small, compared
with the wonderful tide of life which is rolling over the western
plains. And when the southern region shall be insulated from
the sympathies of the whole civilized world, and consecrated to
a stern and remorseless despotism, — a despotism sooner or later
to be engulfed in blood, — by what attraction will it divert the
tide of emigration from the fair prairies of the west, to its own
sugar and cotton-fields ? If, even now, armed patrols must
traverse at night the streets and highways that the whites may
sleep in safety, and military preparation is essential to domestic
security,* what husband or father will take up his residence in
the new empire, when withdrawn from the protection of the
* " A state of military preparation must always be with us a state of per
fect domestic security. A profound peace, and consequent apathy, may ex
pose us to the danger of domestic insurrection." Message of Gov. Hayne to
the Legislature of South Carolina, 1833.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 361
Federal Government and the friendship of its neighbors ? The
slaves are now rapidly gaining on their masters, and will
increase in a still greater ratio after the separation, since the
prudent and the enterprising will abandon the doomed region,
and few or none will enter it from without. Hence itis obvious
that the white population of the southern States could gain no
accession from their erection into a separate confederacy.
Would secession augment the wealth of the South ? Be it
remembered that there is now no one restriction on southern
industry and enterprise which separation would remove. The
slave-holders in Congress, with rare exceptions, have conducted
the affairs of the nation to suit themselves. So far as the
interests of the northern manufacturer were identified with the
tariff, they have been sacrificed at the mandate of the cotton-
grower ; and so far as national legislation can promote the
wealth of the South, the statutes are already enacted.
It will not be denied that the larger portion of the strength of
the Union, — population, money, commerce, and shipping, — is to
be found at the North. In all these elements of national power,
the South participates equally with the North. The foreign
invader is kept from her shores, and her property abroad is
protected from spoliation at least as much by the power of the
North as by her own. Her strength for all purposes of defence,
is the strength of the Union. What would it be after secession?
True it is, the South would receive Texas into her arms, but
she would derive neither honor nor power from the loathsome
embrace. Annexation now would insure to her the political
dominion of the whole Republic, but after secession, would
cause rather weakness than strength.
As we can discover no possible advantage which the South
could derive from secession, we are convinced that the threats of
dissolving the Union, which her statesmen are so prodigal in
scattering, are the ebullitions of passion, or the devices of policy,
rather than the result of mature determination. This conviction
is strengthened by still further considerations.
Should the slave States withdraw without any aggression on
their rights, but for the sole purpose of enjoying in greater pri-
31*

302
vacy and tranquillity the sweets of slavery, they would leave the
whole North in a state of high exasperation. The ligaments
which have so long bound us together, cannot be ruthlessly and
wantonly torn asunder, without causing deep and festering wounds,
the consequences of which the imagination revolts from antici
pating. And in what light would the dark and gloomy despotism
be viewed by the civilized world ? Mankind would behold, and
wonder, and despise. The new State would be excluded from
the companionship of nations. Her cotton would indeed be still
purchased, as we buy the coffee of Hayti ; but with the least pos
sible intimacy. Already is our Minister at London treated with
contumely, because he is a slave-holder ; as the representative -
only of the men who had shattered the American Republic to
secure the permanency of human bondage, he would not be
endured at any court in Europe, with the exception of Constan
tinople. In a few years, the slaves would attain a frightful
numerical superiority over their masters. The dread of insur
rection within, and of aggression from without, would realize the
prediction of holy writ, when men's hearts shall fail them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the
earth. At length the fatal period would arrive, when, stung with
insults and injuries, the new empire would appeal to arms ; and
should a hostile army land upon its shores, the standard of eman
cipation would be reared, and slavery would expire in blood.*
We well know with what indignant feelings these pages will
at first be read by many ; and fortunate shall we deem ourselves
* " March 29, 1779. The committee appointed to take into consideration
the circumstances of the southej'n States, and the ways and means for their
safety and defence, report : That the State of South Carolina, as represented
by the delegates of the said State, and by Mr. Huger, who has come hither
at the request of the governor of said State, on purpose to explain the partic
ular circumstances thereoj, is unable to make any effectual efforts with militia,
by reason of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent
insurrection among ihe negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them to the ene
my. That the state of the country and the great numbers of those people
among them, expose the inhabitants to great danger from the endeavors of
the enemy to excite them either to revolt or desert." Secret Journal of Con
gress, Vol. i, p. 105.
Whether the South Carolinians are from their present "particular circum
stances," less in danger from a foreign invader than in 1779, may be seen
from the following statement: In 1790 there were in that State 107,094 slaves
and 140,178 whites ; in 1830, the colored population was 323,322, the white only
257,863.

ACTION OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT. 363
should we escape the imputation of writing to promote insurrec
tion and disunion. But we appeal from the decision of angry
passion, to that of calm reflection. Do we not speak the words
of truth and soberness ? Do not the signs of the times warrant
our predictions ? In what respect do the sentiments we have
uttered conflict with th8 lessons of history, or the character of
human nature ? Do we love the union of the States ? (!) If
such a love can descend by inheritance, we should possess it ; if
it can be founded on the most thorough conviction of the impor
tance of union not merely to the prosperity of our country, but
to the happiness of numerous and beloved children and relatives,
we should possess it. If the history of the States of Greece,
of Italy, of Holland, of Germany, of South America, and of our
own land, demonstrates the blessings of union and the calamities
of separation, then should the prayer of every American ascend
to Heaven for the perpetuity of the American Union. But let
it be a union for the preservation, not the destruction of liberty :
a union cemented by a sacred observance of the constitutional
compact, not enforced by gag laws, a censorship of the press,
and the abrogation of the right of petition ; a union in conform
ity with the will of God, not in contempt of his authority ; a union
that shall be regarded as a common blessing, not held as a boon
from the South, ever ready to be withdrawn as a penalty for the
discharge of moral and political duties.
May Almighty God in mercy preserve the friends of emanci
pation from the sin and folly of even hazarding the Union, by
the slightest encroachment on the constitutional rights of the
South, and may he give them grace to maintain their own rights
in defiance of every menace.

APPENDIX.

Having mentioned the charge made by President Jackson against the New
York abolitionists, in his message to Congress, and alluded to the letter they
addressed to him respecting it, we have thought it might be useful to insert
here the letter itself, as showing more in detail one of the unwarrantable ex
pedients to which the Federal Government has resorted in behalf of slavery.
" To the President of the United States:
" Sir : — In your message to Congress of the 7th instant, are the following
passages: 'I must also invite your attention to the painful excitement pro
duced in the South, by attempts to circulate through the mails, inflammatory
appeals, addressed to the passions of the slaves, in prints and in various sorts
of publications, calculated to stimulate them to insurrection, andproduce all the
horrors of a servile war. There is, doubtless, no respectable portion of our
countrymen who can be so far misled as to feel any other sentiment than that
of indignant regret, at conduct so destructive of the harmony and peace of
the. country, and so repugnant to the principles of our national compact, and to
the dictates of humanity and religion.' You remark, that it is fortunate that
the people of the North have ' given so strong and impressive a tone to the
sentiments entertained against the proceedings of the misguided persons
who have engaged in these unconstitutional and wicked attempts' And you
proceed to suggest to Congress, ' the propriety of passing such a law as will
prohibit, under severe penalties, the circulation in the southern States,
through the mails, of incendiary publications, intended to instigate the slaves
to insurrection.'
" A servile insurrection, as experience has shown, involves the slaughter
of the whites, without respect to sex or age. Hence, sir, the purport of the
information you have communicated to Congress and to the world, is, that
there are American citizens who, in violation of the dictates of humanity and
religion, have engaged in unconstitutional and wicked attempts to circulate,
through the mails, inflammatory appeals addressed to the passions of the
slaves, and which appeals, as is implied in the object of your proposed law,
are intended to stimulate the slaves to indiscriminate massacre. Recent
events irresistibly confine the application of your remarks to the officers and
members of the American Anti-Slavery Society and its auxiliaries.
" On the 28th of March, 1834, the Senate of the United States passed the
following resolution :
" ' Resolved, That the President, in relation to the public revenue, has as
sumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution
and laws, but in derogation of both.'

APPENDIX. 365
" On the 5th of the ensuing month, you transmitted to that body your ' sol
emn protest' against their decision. Instructed by your example, we now,
sir, in behalf of the Society of which we are the constituted organs, and in
behalf of all who are associated with it, present to you this, our 'solemn pro
test,' against your grievous and unfounded accusations.
" Should it be supposed that in thus addressing you we are wanting in the
respect due to your exalted station, we offer, in our vindication, your own
acknowledgment to the Senate -. ' Subject only to the restraints of truth and
justice, the free people of the United States have the undoubted right as
individuals, or collectively, orally, or in writing, at such_ times and in such
language and form as they may thinkproper, to discuss his (the President's)
official conduct, and to express and promulgate their opinions concerning it.'
"In the exercise of this 'undoubted right,' we protest against the judg
ment you have pronounced against the abolitionists.
"First, because, in rendering that judgment officially, you assumed a pow
er not belonging to your office.
"You complained that the resolution censuring your conduct, 'though
adopted by the Senate in its legislative capacity, is, in its effects and in its
characteristics, essentially judicial.' And thus, sir, although the charges of
which we complain were made by you in your executive capacity, they are,
equally with the resolution, essentially judicial. The Senate adjudged that
your conduct was unconstitutional. You pass the same judgment on our
efforts. Nay, sir, you go farther than the Senate. That body forbore to im
peach your motives — but you have assumed the prerogatives, not only of a
court of law, but of conscience, and pronounce our efforts to be wicked as well
as unconstitutional.
"Secondly, we protest against the publicity you have given to your accusa
tions. " You felt it to be a grievance, that the charge against you was 'spread
upon the Journal of the Senate, published to the nation and to the world,
made part of our enduring archives, and incorporated in the history of the
age. The punishment of removal from office, and future disqualification,
does not follow the decision ; but the moral influence of a solemn declara
tion by a majority of the Senate, that the accused is guilty of the offence
charged upon him, has been as effectually secured as if the like declaration
had been made upon an impeachment expressed in the same terms.'
"And is it nothing, sir, that we are officially charged by the President of
the United States, with wicked and unconstitutional efforts, and with harbor
ing the most execrable intentions ? and this, too, in a document spread upon
the Journals of both Houses of Congress, published to the nation and to the
world, made part of our enduring archives, and incorporated in the history of
the age ? It is true, that although you have given judgment against us, you
cannot award execution. We are not, indeed, subjected to the penalty of
murder; but need we ask you, sir, what must be the moral influence of your
declaration, that we have intended its perpetration ?
"Thirdly, we protest against your condemnation of us unheard.
" What, sir, was your'complaint against the Senate? 'Without notice,
unheard, and untried, I find myself charged, on the records of the Senate,
and in a form unknown in our country, with the high crime of violating the
laws and Constitution of my country. No notice of the charge was given to
the accused, and no opportunity afforded him to respond to the accusation —
to meet his accusers face to face — to cross-examine the witnesses — to pro
cure counteracting testimony, or to be heard in his defence.'
" Had you, sir, done to others as it thus seems you would that others should
do to you, no occasion would have been given for this protest. You most
truly assert, in relation to the conduct of the SeHate, ' It is the policy of our
benign system of jurisprudence, to secure in all criminal proceedings, and
even in the most trivial litigations, a fair, unprejudiced, and impartial trial.'
And by what authority, sir, do you except such of your fellow- citizens as
are known as abolitionists from the benefit of this benign system? When
has a fair, unprejudiced, and impartial trial been accorded to those who dare
to maintain that all men are equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit

366 jay's works.
of happiness ? What was the trial, sir, which preceded the judgment you
have rendered against them ?
"Fourthly, We protest against the vagueness of your charges.
" We cannot more forcibly describe the injustice you have done us than by
adopting your own indignant remonstrance, against what you deemed similar
injustice on the part of the Senate: 'Some of the first principles of natural
right and enlightened jurisprudence, have been violated in the very form of
the resolution. It carefully abstains from averring in which of the late pro
ceedings the President has assumed upon himself authority and power not
conferred by the Constitution and laws. Why was not the certainty of the
offence, the nature and cause of the accusation, set out in the manner required
in the Constitution, before even the humblest individual, for the smallest
crime, can be exposed to condemnation ? Such a specification was due to
the accused, that he might direct his defence to the real points of attack. A
more striking illustration of the soundness and necessity of the rules which
forbid vague and indefinite generalities, and require a reasonable certainty in
all judicial allegations, and a more glaring instance of the violation of these
rules, have seldom been exhibited.'
_ "It has been reserved for you, sir, to exhibit a still more striking illustra
tion of the importance of these rules, and a still more glaring instance of
their violation. You have accused an indefinite number of your fellow-citi
zens, without designation of name or residence, of making unconstitutional
and wicked efforts, and of harboring intentions which could be entertained
only by the most depraved and abandoned of mankind ; and yet you carefully
abstain from averring which article of the Constitution they have transgressed;
you omit stating when, where, and by whom these wicked attempts were
made ; you give no specification of the inflammatory appeals which you assert
have been addressed to the passions of the slaves. You well know that the
' moral influence' of your charges will affect thousands of your countrymen,
many of them your political friends — some of them heretofore honored with
your confidence — most, if not all of them, of irreproachable characters ; and
yet, by the very vagueness of your charges, you incapacitate each one of this
multitude from proving his innocence.
_ "Fifthly, we protest against your charges because they are untrue. Surely,
sir, the burden of proof rests upon you. If you possess evidence against us,
we are, by your own showing, entitled to ' an opportunity to cross-examine
witnesses, to procure counteracting testimony, and to be heard in [our] de
fence.' You complained that you had been denied such an opportunity. It
was not to have been expected, then, that you would make the conduct of
the Senate the model of your own. Conscious of the wrong done to you, and
protesting against it, you found yourself compelled to enter on your defence.
You have placed us in similar circumstances, and we proceed to follow your
example :
" The substance of your various allegations may be embodied in the charge,
that ice have attempted to circulate, through the mails, appeals addressed to the
passions of ihe slaves, calculated to stimulate them to insurrection, and with the
intention of producing a servile war.
"It is deserving of notice, that the attempt to circulate our papers is alone
charged upon us. It is not pretended that we have put our appeals into the
hands of a single slave, or that, in any instance, our endeavors to excite a
servile war have been crowned with success. And in what way were our
most execrable attempts made ? By secret agents, traversing the slave coun
try in disguise, stealing by night into the hut of the slave, and there reading
to him our inflammatory appeals ? You, sir, answer this question by declar
ing that we attempted the mighty mischief by circulating our appeals
' through the mails !' And are the southern slaves, sir, accustomed to re
ceive periodicals by mail ? Of the thousands of publications mailed from the
Anti-Slavery office for the South, did you ever hear, sir, of one solitary paper
being addressed to a slave ? Would you know to whom they were directed,
consult the southern newspapers, and you will find them complaining that
they were sent to public officers, clergymen, and other influential citizens.
Thus it seems we are incendiaries, who place the torch in the hands of him

APPENDIX. 367
whose dwellings we would fire ! We are conspiring to excite a servile war,
and announce our design to the masters, and commit to their care and dis
posal the very instruments by which we expect to effect our purpose ! It has
been said that thirty or forty of our papers were received at the South, directed
to free people of color. We cannot deny the assertion, because thes,e papers
may have been mailed by others for the sinister purpose of charging the act
upon us. We are, however, ready to make our several affidavits, that not
one paper, with our knowledge, or by our authority, has ever been sent to
any such person in a slave State. The free people of color at the South can
exert no influence in behalf of the enslaved; and we have no disposition to
excite odium against them, by making them the recipients of our publications.
" Your proposal that a law should be passed, punishing the circulation,
through the mails, of papers intended to excite the slaves to insurrection,
necessarily implies that such papers are now circulated ; and you expressly
and positively assert, that we have attempted to circulate appeals addressed
to the passions of the slaves, and calculated to produce all the horrors of a
servile tear. We trust, sir, your proposed law, so portentous to the freedom
of the press, will not be enacted, till you have furnished Congress with
stronger evidence of its necessity than unsupported assertions. We hope
you will lay before that body, for its information, the papers to which you
refer. This is the more necessary, as the various public journals and meet
ings which have denounced us for entertaining insurrectionary and murder
ous designs, have in no instance been able to quote from our publications, a
single exhortation to the slaves to break their fetters, or the expression of a
solitary wish for a servile war.
" How far our writings are ' calculated ' to produce insurrection, is a ques
tion which will be variously decided according to the latitude in which it is
discussed. When we recollect that the humble school-book, the tale of fic
tion, and the costly annual have been placed under the ban of southern edit
ors for trivial allusions to slavery — and that a southern divine has warned
his fellow-citizens of the danger of permitting slaves to be present at the
celebration of our national festival, where they might listen to the Declara
tion of Independence, and to eulogiums on liberty, — we have little hope
that our disquisitions on human rights will be generally deemed safe and
innocent, where those rights are habitually violated. Certain writings of
one of your predecessors, President Jefferson, would undoubtedly be regard
ed, in some places, so insurrectionary as to expose to popular violence who
ever should presume to circulate them.
" As therefore, sir, there is no common standard by which the criminality
of opinions respecting slavery can be tested, we acknowledge the foresight
which prompted you to recommend that the ' severe penalties ' of your pro
posed law should be awarded, not according to the character of the publica
tion, but the intention of the writer. Still, sir, we apprehend that no trivial
difficulties will be experienced in the application of your law. The writer
may be anonymous, or beyond the reach of prosecution, while the porter
who deposits the papers in the post-office, and the mail-carrier who trans
ports them, having no evil intentions, cannot be visited with the ' severe
penalties ; ' and thus will your law fail in securing to the South that entire
exemption from all discussion on the subject of slavery, which it so vehe
mently desires. The success of the attempt already made to establish a
censorship of the press, is not such as to invite farther encroachment on the
rights of the people to publish their sentiments.
" In your protest, you remarked to the Senate : ' The whole Executive
power being vested in the President, who is responsible for its exercise, it is
a necessary consequence that he should have a right to employ agents of his
own choice, to aid him in the performance of his duties, and to discharge them
when he is no longer willing to be responsible for their acts. He is equally
bound to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, whether they impose
duties on the highest officer of State, or the lowest subordinates in any of the
departments.' " It may not be uninteresting to you, sir, to be informed in what manner
your ' Subordinate ' in New York, who, on your ' responsibility,' is exercising

368 jay's works.
the functions of censor of the American press, discharges the arduous duties
of this untried, and until now, unheard-of office. We beg leave to assure
you, that his task is executed with a simplicity of principle, and celerity
of despatch, unknown to any censor of the press in France or Austria. Your
subordinate decides upon the incendiary character of the publications com
mitted to the post-office, by a glance at the wrappers or bags in which they
are contained. No packages sent to be mailed from our office, and directed
to a slave State, can escape the vigilance of this inspector of canvas and
brown paper. Even your own protest, sir, if in an anti-slavery envelope,
would be arrested on its progress to the South, as ' inflammatory, incendiary,
and insurrectionary in the highest degree.'
" No veto, however, is as yet imposed on the circulation of publications
from any printing-office but our own. Hence, when we desire to send ' ap
peals ' to the South, all that is necessary is, to insert them in some newspa
per that espouses our principles, pay for as many thousand copies as we
think proper, and order them to be mailed according to our instructions.
"Such, sir, is the worthless protection purchased for the South, by the
most unblushing and dangerous usurpation of which any public officer has
been guilty since the organization of our Federal Government. Were the
Senate, in reference to your acknowledged responsibility for the conduct of
your subordinates, to resolve ' that the President, in relation to the suppres
sion of certain papers in the New York Post Office, has assumed upon him
self authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in
derogation of both,' instead of protesting against the charge, you would be
compelled to acknowledge its truth, and you would plead the necessity of the
case in your vindication. The weight to be attached to such a plea, may be
learned from the absurdity and inefficacy of the New York censorship. Be
assured, sir, your proposed law to punish the intentions of an author, will, in
its practical operations, prove equally impotent.
" And now, sir, permit us respectfully to suggest to you the propriety of
ascertaining the real designs of abolitionists, before your apprehensions of
them lead you to sanction any more trifling with the liberty of the press.
You assume it as a fact, that abolitionists are miscreants, who are laboring
to effect the massacre of their southern brethren. Are you aware of the
extent of the reproach which such an assumption casts upon the character
of your countrymen ? In August last, the number of Anti-Slavery Societies
known to us was 263 ; we have now the names of more than 359 societies,
and accessions are daily made to the multitude who embrace our principles.
And can you think it possible, sir, that these citizens are deliberately plot
ting murder, and furnishing us with funds to send publications to the South
' intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection ? ' Is there any thing in
the character and manners of the free States, to warrant the imputation on
their citizens of such enormous wickedness ? Have vou ever heard, sir, of
whole communities in these States subjecting obnoxious individuals to a
mock trial, and then, in contempt of law, humanity, and religion, deliberate
ly murdering them ? You have seen, in the public journals, great rewards
offered for the perpetration of horrible crimes. We appeal to your candor,
and ask, were these rewards offered by abolitionists, or -by men whose charges
against abolitionists you have condescended to sanction and disseminate ?
" And what, sir, is the character of those whom you have in your message
held up to the execration of the civilized world ? Their enemies being judges,
they are religious fanatics. And what are the haunts of these plotters of
murder ? The pulpit, the bench, the bar, the professor's chair, the hall of
legislation, the meeting for prayer, the temple of the Most High. But
strange and monstrous as is this conspiracy, still you believe in its existence,
and call on Congress to counteract it. Be persuaded, sir, the moral sense
of the community is abundantly sufficient to render this conspiracy utterly
impotent the moment its machinations are exposed. Only PROVE the
assertions and insinuations in your message, and you dissolve in an instant
every Anti-Slavery Society in our land. Think not, sir, that we shall inter
pose any obstacle to an inquiry into our conduct. We invite, nay, sir, we
entreat the appointment by Cdngress of a Committee of Investigation to

APPENDIX. 369
visit the Anti-Slavery office in New York. They shall be put in possession
of copies of all the publications that have been issued from our press. Our
whole correspondence shall be submitted to their inspection ; our accounts
of receipts and expenditures shall be spread before them, and we ourselves
will cheerfully answer under oath whatever interrogatories they may put to
lis relating to the charges you have advanced.
" Should such a committee be denied, and should the law you propose,
stigmatizing us as felons, be passed without inquiry into the truth of your
accusation, and without allowing us a hearing, then shall we make the lan
guage of your protest our own, and declare that, ' If such proceedings shall
be approved and sustained by an intelligent people, then will the great con
test with arbitrary power which had established in statutes, in bills of rights,
in sacred charters, and in constitutions of government, the right of every
citizen to a notice before trial, to a bearing before condemnation, and to an
impartial tribunal for deciding on the charge, have been made in VAIN.'
" Before we conclude, permit us, sir, to offer you the following assurances.
" Our principles, our objects, and our measures, are wholly uncontami-
nated by considerations of party policy. Whatever may be our respective
opinions as citizens, of men and measures, as abolitionists we have expressed
no political preferences, and are pursuing no party ends. From neither of
the gentlemen nominated to succeed you, have we any thing to hope or fear ;
and to neither of them do we intend, as abolitionists, to afford any aid or
influence. This declaration will, it is hoped, satisfy the partisans of the
rival candidates that it is not necessary for them to assail our rights by way
of convincing the South that they do not possess our favor.
" We have addressed you, sir, on this occasion, with republican plainness
and Christian sincerity ; but with no desire to derogate from the respect that
is due to you, or wantonly to give you pain. To repel your charges, and to
disabuse the public, was a duty we owed to ourselves, to our children, and
above all to the great and holy cause in which we are engaged. That cause
we believe is approved by our Maker ; and while we retain this belief, it is
our intention, trusting to His direction and protection, to persevere in our
endeavors to impress upon the minds and hearts of our countrymen, the
sinfulness of claiming property in human beings, and the duty and wisdom
of immediately relinquishing it.
" AVhen convinced that our endeavors are wrong, we shall abandon them;
but such conviction must be produced by other arguments than vituperation,
popular violence, or penal enactments. ARTHUR TAPPAN,
WILLIAM JAY,
JOHN RANKIN,
ABRAHAM L. COX,
JOSHUA LEAVITT,
SIMEON S. JOSELYN,
LEWIS TAPPAN,
THEODORE S. WRIGHT,
SAMUEL E CORNISH,
ELIZUR WRIGHT, Jr.
Executive Committee."
New York, Dec. 26, 1835.
32

ON THE

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR
IN THE UNITED STATES.

It appears from the census of 1830, that there were then
319,467 free colored persons in the United States. At the
present time the number cannot be less-than 360,000. Fifteen
States of the Federal Union have each a smaller population
than this aggregate. Hence if the whole mass of human beings
inhabiting Connecticut, or New Jersey, or any other of these
fifteen States, were subjected to the ignorance and degradation
and persecution and terror we are about to describe as the lot
of this much-injured people, the amount of suffering would still
be numerically less than that inflicted by a professedly Christian
and republican community upon the free negroes. Candor, how
ever, compels us to admit that, deplorable as is their condition,
jt is still not so wretched as colonizationists and slave-holders,
for obvious reasons, are fond of representing it. It is not true
that free negroes are " more vicious and miserable than slaves
can be," * nor that " it would be as humane to throw slaves from
the decks of the middle passage, as to set them free in this coun-
*Rev. Mr. Bacon, of New Haven, 1 Rep., Am. Col. Soc, p. 99.

372

JAY S WORKS.

try,"* nor that " a sudden and universal emancipation without
colonization, would be a greater curse to the slaves themselves,
than the bondage in which they are held."
It is a little singular, that in utter despite of these rash asser
tions slave-holders and colonizationists unite in assuring us, that
the slaves are rendered discontented by ivitnessing the freedom of
their colored brethren ; and hence we are urged to assist in
banishing to Africa these sable and dangerous mementoes of
liberty. We all know that the wife and children of the free negro are
not ordinarily sold in the market, that he himself does not toil
under the lash, and that in certain parts of our country he is
permitted to acquire some intelligence, and to enjoy some com
forts, utterly and universally denied to the slave. Still it is
most unquestionable, that these people grievously suffer from a
cruel and wicked prejudice — cruel in its consequences, wicked
in its voluntary adoption and its malignant character.
Colonizationists have taken great pains to inculcate the opin
ion that prejudice against color is implanted in our nature by
the Author of our being; and whence they infer the futility of
every effort to elevate the colored man in this country, and con
sequently the duty and benevolence of sending him to Africa,
beyond the reach of our cruelty.f The theory is as false in fact
* African Repository, Vol. IV, p. 226.
f " Prejudices, which neither refinement, nor argument, nor education,
nor keligion itself can subdue, mark the people of color, whether bond or
free, as the subjects of a degradation inevitable and incurable." Address of
the Connecticut Col. Society. " The managers consider it clear that causes
exist, end are now operating, to prevent their improvement and elevation to
any considerable extent as a class in this country, which are fixed, not only
beyond the control of the friends of humanity, but of any human power:
Christianity cannot do for them here, what it will do for them in Africa.
This is not the fault of the colored man, nor of the white man, but an ordi
nation of Providence, and no more to be changed than the laws of nature."
15th Rep., Am. Col. Soc, p. 47.
" The people of color must, in this country, remain for ages, probably for
ever, a separate and distinct caste, weighed down by causes powerful, uni
versal, invincible, which neither legislation nor Christianity can remove."
African Repository, Vol. VIII, p. 196.
" Do they (the abolitionists) not perceive that in thus confounding all the
distinctions which God himself has made, they arraign the wisdom and good
ness of Providence itself ? It has been his divine pleasure, to make the black
man black, and the white man white, and to distinguish them by other
repulsive constitutional differences.'" Speech in Senate of the United States,
February 7, 1839, by Henry Clay, President of the Am. Col. Soc.

CONDITION OP THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 373
as it is derogatory to the character of that God whom we are
told is love. With what astonishment and disgust should we
behold an earthly parent exciting feuds and animosities among
his own children ; yet we are assured, and that too by professing
Christians, that our heavenly Father has implanted a principle
of hatred, repulsion and alienation between certain portions of
his family on earth, and then commanded them, as if in mockery,
to "love one another."
In vain do we seek in nature for the origin of this prejudice.
Young children never betray it, and on the continent of Europe
it is unknown. We are not speaking of matters of taste, or of
opinions of personal beauty, but of a prejudice against com
plexion, leading to insult, degradation and oppression. In no
country in Europe is any man excluded from refined society, or
deprived of literary, religious, or political privileges on account
of the tincture of his skin. If this prejudice is the fiat of the
Almighty, most wonderful is it, that of all the kindreds of the
earth, none have been found submissive to the heavenly impulse,
excepting the white inhabitants of North America ; and of these,
it is no less strange than true, that this divine principle of repul
sion is most energetic in such persons as, in other respects, are
the least observant of their Maker's will. This prejudice is
sometimes erroneously regarded as the cause of slavery ; and
some zealous advocates of emancipation have flattered themselves
that, could the prejudice be destroyed, negro slavery would fall
with it. Such persons have very inadequate ideas of the malig
nity of slavery. They forget that the slaves in Greece and Rome
were of the same hue as their masters ; and that at the South,
the value of a slave, especially of a female, rises, as the com
plexion recedes from the African standard.
Were we to inquire into the geography of this prejudice, we
should find that the localities in which it attains its rankest
luxuriance, are not the rice-swamps of Georgia, nor the sugar-
fields of Louisiana, but the hills and valleys of New England,
and the prairies of Ohio ! It is a fact of acknowledged notoriety,
that however severe may be the laws against the colored people
at the South, the prejudice against their persons is far weaker
than among ourselves. 32*

374 jay's works.
It is not necessary, for our present purpose, to enter into a
particular investigation of the condition of the free negroes in
the slave States. We all know that they suffer every form of
oppression which the laws can inflict upon persons not actually
slaves. That unjust and cruel enactments should proceed from
a people who keep two millions of their fellow-men in abject
bondage, and who believe such enactments essential to the main
tenance of their despotism, certainly affords no cause for sur
prise. We turn to the free States, where slavery has not directly
steeled our hearts against human suffering, and where no sup
posed danger of insurrection affords a pretext for keeping the
free blacks in ignorance and degradation ; and we ask, What is
the character of the prejudice against color here ? Let the Rev.
Mr. Bacon, of Connecticut, answer the question. This gentle
man, in a vindication of the Colonization Society, assures us,
" The Soodra is not farther separated from the Brahim in regard
to all his privileges, civil, intellectual, and moral, than the negro
from the white man by the prejudices which result from the dif
ference made between them by the God of nature." Rep. Am.
Col. Soc, p. 87.
We may here notice the very opposite effect produced on
abolitionists and colonizationists, by the consideration that this
difference is made by the God of nature ; leading the one to
discard the prejudice, and the other to banish its victims.
With these preliminary remarks we will now proceed to take
a view of the condition of the free people of color in the non-
slave-holding States ; and will consider in order, the various
disabilities and oppressions to which they are subjected, either
by law or the customs of society.
1. GENERAL EXCLUSION PROM THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE.
Were this exclusion founded on the want of property, or any
other qualification deemed essential to the judicious exercise of
the franchise, it would afford no just cause of complaint ; but it
is founded solely on the color of the skin, and is therefore' irra-

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OP COLOR. 375
tional and unjust. That taxation and representation should be
inseparable, was one of the axioms of the fathers of our Revo
lution, and one of the reasons they assigned for their revolt
from the crown of Britain. But now, it is deemed a mark of
fanaticism to complain of the disfranchisement of a whole race,
while they remain subject to the burden of taxation. It is
worthy of remark, that of the thirteen original States, only two
were so recreant to the principles of the Revolution, as to make
a white skin a qualification for suffrage. But the prejudice has
grown with our growth, and strengthened with our strength ; and
it is believed that in every State constitution subsequently formed
or revised, (excepting Vermont and Maine, and the revised
constitution of Massachusetts,) the crime of a dark complexion
has been punished, by debarring its possessor from all approach
to the ballot-box.* The necessary effect of this proscription in
aggravating the oppression and degradation of the colored inhab
itants, must be obvious to all who call to mind the solicitude
manifested by demagogues, and office-seekers, and law-makers,
to propitiate the good will of all who have votes to bestow.
2. DENIAL OF THE RIGHT OF LOCOMOTION.
It is in vain that the Constitution of the United States express
ly guarantees to " the citizens of each State, all the privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several States :" — It is in vain
that the Supreme Court of the United States has solemnly
decided that this clause confers on every citizen of one State the
right to " pass through, or reside in any other State for the pur
poses of trade, agriculture, professional pursuits, or otherwise."
It is in vain that " the members of the several State Legislatures "
are required to "be bound by oath or affirmation to support"
the Constitution conferring this very guaranty. Constitutions
and judicial decisions and religious obligations are alike outraged
by our State enactments against people of color. There is
* " From this remark the revised constitution of New York is nominally an
exception, colored citizens, possessing a freehold worth two hundred and
fifty dollars, being allowed to vote ; while suffrage is extended to white citi
zens without any property qualification.

376 jay's works.
scarcely a slave State' in. which a citizen of New York, with a
dark skin, may visit a dying child without subjecting himself to
legal penalties. But in the slave States we look for cruelty ; we
expect the rights of humanity and the laws of the land to be
sacrificed on the altar of slavery. In the free States, we had
reason to hope for a greater deference to decency and morality.
Yet even in these States we behold the effects of a miasma
wafted from the South. The Connecticut Black Act, prohibit
ing, under heavy penalties, the instruction'of any colored person
from another State, is well known. It is one of the encouraging
signs of the times, that public opinion has recently compelled
the repeal of this detestable law. But among all the free States,
Ohio stands preeminent for the wickedness of her statutes
against this class of our population. These statutes are not
merely infamous outrages on every principle of justice and
humanity, but are gross and palpable violations of the State
Constitution, and manifest an absence of moral sentiment in the
Ohio Legislature, as deplorable as it is alarming. We speak
' the language, not of passion, but of sober conviction ; and for
the truth of this language we appeal, first, to the statutes them
selves, and then to the consciences of our readers. We shall
have occasion to notice these laws under the several divisions of
our subject to which they belong ; at present we ask attention
to the one intended to prevent the colored citizens of other
States from removing into Ohio. By the constitution of New
York, the colored inhabitants are expressly recognized as " citi
zens." Let us suppose, then, a New York freeholder and voter
of this class, confiding in the guaranty given by the Federal
constitution, removes into Ohio. No matter how much property
he takes with him ; no matter what attestations he produces to
the purity of his character, he is required by the Act of 1807,
to find, within twenty days, two freehold sureties in the sum of
five hundred dollars for his good behavior ; and likewise for his
"maintenance, should he at any future period, from any cause
whatever, be unable to maintain himself, and in default of pro-
Curing such sureties, he is to be removed by the overseers of the
poor The Legislature well knew that it would generally be

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 377
utterly impossible for a stranger, and especially a black stranger,
to find such sureties. It was the design of the Act, by imposing
impracticable conditions, to prevent colored emigrants from re
maining within the State ; and in order more certainly to effect
this object, it imposes a pecuniary penalty on every inhabitant
who shall venture to " harbor," that is, receive under his roof,
or who shall even " employ " an emigrant who has not given
the required sureties ; and it moreover renders such inhabitant
so harboring or employing him legally liable for his future
maintenance !
We are frequently told that the efforts of the abolitionists have
in fact aggravated the condition of the colored people, bond and
free. The date of this law, as well as the date of most of the
laws composing the several slave-codes, shows what credit is to
be given to the assertion. If a barbarous enactment is recent,
its odium is thrown upon the friends of the blacks ; if ancient,
we are assured that it is obsolete. The Ohio law was enacted
only four years after the State was admitted into the Union.
In 1800 there were only three hundred- and thirty-seven free
blacks in the territory, and in 1830, the number in the State
was nine thousand five hundred. Of course a very large pro
portion of the present colored population of the State must have
entered it in ignorance of this iniquitous law, or in defiance of it.
That the law has not been universally enforced, proves only that
the people of Ohio are less profligate than their legislators ; that
it has remained on the statute book for thirty-two years, proves
the depraved state of public opinion and the horrible persecution
to which the colored people are legally exposed. But let it not
be supposed that this vile law is in fact obselete, and its very
existence forgotten.
In 1829, a very general effort was made to enforce this law,
and about one thousand free blacks were in consequence of it
driven out of the State, and sought a refuge in the more free and
Christian country of Canada. Previous to their departure, they
sent a deputation to the Governor bf the Upper Province, to
know if they would be admitted, and received from Sir James
Colebrook this reply: — "Tell the republicans on your side of

378 jay's works.
the line, that we royalists do not know men by their color.
Should you come to us, you will be entitled to all the privileges
of the rest of his majesty's subjects." This was the origin of
the Wilberforce colony in Upper Canada.
We have now before us an Ohio paper containing a proclama
tion by John S. Wiles, overseer of the poor in the town of Fair
field, dated 12th March, 1838. In this instrument notice is
given to all " black or mulatto persons " residing in Fairfield, to
comply with the requisitions of the Act of 1807 within twenty
days, or the law would be enforced against them. The procla
mation also addresses the white inhabitants of Fairfield in the
following terms : " Whites, look out ! If any person or persons
employing any black or mulatto person, contrary to the third
section of the above law, you may look out for the breakers."
The extreme vulgarity and malignity of this notice indicates the
spirit which gave birth to this detestable law, and continues it in
being. Now what says the constitution of Ohio ? " All are born free
and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, inalienable
rights ; among which are the enjoying, and defending life and
liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pur
suing and attaining happiness and safety." Yet men who had
called their Maker to witness that they would obey this very
constitution, require impracticable conditions, and then impose
a pecuniary penalty and grievous liabilities on every man who
shall give to an innocent fellow-countryman a night's lodging,
or even a meal of victuals in exchange for his honest labor !
3. DENIAL OP THE RIGHT OF PETITION.
We exphcitly disclaim all intention to imply that the several
disabilities and cruelties we are specifying are of universal
application. The laws of some States in relation to people of
color are more wicked than others ; and the spirit of persecution
is not. in every place equally active and malignant. In none of
the free States have these people so many grievances to com
plain of as in Ohio, and for the honor of our country we rejoice

CONDITION OP THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 379
to add, that in no other State in the Union has their right to
petition for a redress of their grievances been denied.
On the 14th of January, 1839, a petition for relief from certain
legal disabilities, from colored inhabitants of Ohio, was presented
to the popular branch of the Legislature, and its rejection was
moved by George H. Flood.* This rejection was not a denial
of the prayer, but an expulsion of the petition itself, as an
intruder into the House. "The question presented for our
decision," said one of the members, " is simply this — Shall
human beings, who are bound by every enactment upon our
statute book, be permitted to request the Legislature to modify
or soften the laws under which they live?" To the Grand
Sultan, crowded with petitions as he traverses the streets of
Constantinople, such a question would seem most strange ; but
American Democrats can exert a tyranny over men who have no
votes, utterly unknown to Turkish despotism. Mr. Flood's
motion was lost by a majority of only four votes ; but this tri
umph of humanity and republicanism was as transient as it was
meagre. The next day, the House, by a large majority, resolved
" That the blacks and mulattoes who may be residents within thta
State, have no constitutional right to present their petitions to the
General Assembly for any purpose whatsoever, and that any reception
of such petitions on the part of the General Assembly is a mere act of
privilege or policy, and not imposed by any expressed or implied
power of the Constitution."
The phraseology of this resolution is as clumsy as its assertions
are base and sophistical. The meaning intended to be expressed
is simply, that the constitution of Ohio, neither in terms nor by
implication, confers on such residents as are negroes or mulattoes, ,
any right to offer a petition to the Legislature for any object
whatever ; nor imposes on that body any obligation to. notice
guch a petition ; and whatever attention it may please to. bestow
upon it, ought to be regarded as an act not of duty, but merely
of favor or expediency. Hence it is obvious, that the principle.
on which the resolution is founded is,- that the reciprocal right
and duty of offering and hearing petitions rests solely on consti*.
* It is sometimes interesting to preserve the names of individuals who
have perpetrated bold and unusual enormities.

380 jay's WORKS.
tutional enactment, and not on moral obligation. The reception
of negro petitions is declared to be a mere act of privilege or
policy. Now it is difficult to imagine a principle more utterly
subversive of all the duties of rulers, the rights of citizens, and
the charities of private life. The victim of oppression or fraud
has no right to appeal to the constituted authorities for redress,
nor are those authorities under any obligation to consider the
appeal ; the needy and unfortunate have no right to implore
the assistance of their more fortunate neighbors ; and all are at
hberty to turn a deaf ear to the cry of distress. „ The eternal
and immutable principles of justice and humanity, proclaimed
by Jehovah, and impressed by him on the conscience of man,
have no binding force on the Legislature of Ohio, unless ex
pressly adopted and enforced by the State constitution !
But as the Legislature has thought proper thus to set at
defiance the moral sense of mankind, and to take refuge behind
the enactments of the constitution, let us try the strength of
their entrenchments. The words of the constitution, which it is
pretended sanction the resolution we are considering, are the
following, viz. : — " The people have a right to assemble together
in a peaceable manner to consult for their common good, to
instruct their representatives, and to apply to the Legislature for
a redress of grievances." It is obvious that this clause confers
no rights, but is merely declaratory of existing rights. Still, as
the right of the people to apply for a redress of grievances is
coupled with the right of instructing their representatives, and as
negroes are not electors, and consequently are without represen
tatives, it is inferred that they are not part of the people. That
_ Ohio legislators are not Christians would be a more rational
conclusion. One of the members avowed his opinion that " none
but voters had a right to petition." If, then, according to the
principle of the resolution, the constitution of Ohio denies the
right of petition to all but electors, let us consider the practical
results of such a denial. In the first place, every female in the
State is placed under the same disability with " blacks and mu
lattoes. No wife has a right to ask for a divorce — no daughter
may plead for a father's life. Next, no man under twenty-one

CONDITION OP THE FREE PEOPLE OP COLOR. 381
years — no citizen of any age, who from want of sufficient resi
dence, or other qualification, is not entitled to vote — no individ
ual among the tens of thousands of aliens in the State, however
oppressed and wronged by official tyranny or corruption, has a
right to seek redress from the representatives of the people, and
should he presume to do so, may be told, that, hke " blacks and
mulattoes," he " has no constitutional right to present his petition
to the General Assembly for any purpose whatever." Again,
the State of Ohio is deeply indebted to the citizens of other
Statesj-and also to the subjects of Great Britain, for money bor
rowed to construct her canals. Should any of these creditors
lose their certificates of debt, and ask for their renewal ; or
should their interest be withheld, or paid in depreciated currency,
and were they to ask for justice at the hands of the Legislature,
they might be told, that any attention paid to their request must
be regarded as a " mere act of privilege or policy, and not im
posed by any expressed or implied power of the Constitution,"
for, not being voters, they stood on the same ground as " blacks
and mulattoes." Such is the folly and wickedness in which
prejudice against color has involved the legislators of a re
publican and professedly Christian State in the nineteenth
century. 4. EXCLUSION FROM THE ARMY AND MILITIA.
The Federal Government is probably the only one in the
world that forbids a portion of its subjects to participate in the
national defence, not from any doubts of their courage, loyalty,
or physical strength, but merely on account of the tincture
of their skin ! To such an absurd extent is this prejudice
against color carried, that some of our militia companies have
occasionally refused to march to the sound of a drum when
beaten by a black man. To declare a certain class of the
community unworthy to bear arms in defence of their na
tive country, is necessarily to consign that class to general
contempt. 33

382 jay's WORKS.
5. EXCLUSION FROM ALL PARTICIPATION IN THE ADMINIS
TRATION OF JUSTICE.
No colored man can be a judge, juror, or constable. Were
the talents and acquirements of a Mansfield or a Marshall veiled
in a sable skin, they would be excluded from the bench of the
humblest court in the American republic. In the slave States
generally, no black man can enter a court of justice as a witness
against a white one. Of course a white man may, with perfect
impunity, defraud or abuse a negro to any extent, provided he
is careful to avoid the presence of any of his own caste, at the
execution of his contract, or the indulgence of his malice. We
are not aware that an outrage so flagrant is sanctioned by the
laws oi any free State, with one exception. That exception the
reader will readily believe can be none other than Ohio. A
statute of this State enacts, " that no black or mulatto person or
persons shall hereafter be permitted to be sworn, or give evi
dence in any court of record or elsewhere, in this State, in any
cause depending, or matter of controversy, when either party to
the same is a white person ; or in any prosecution of the State
against any white person."
We have seen that on the subject of petition the Legislature
regards itself as independent of all obligation except such as is
imposed by the constitution. How mindful they are of the re
quirements even of that instrument, when obedience to them
would check the indulgence of their malignity to the blacks, ap
pears from the 7th Section of the 8th Article, viz. — " All courts
shall be open, and every person, for any injury done him in his
lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due
cour/se of law, and right and justice administered without denial
or delay."
Ohio legislators may deny that negroes and mulattoes are
citizens, or people ; but they are estopped by the very words of
the statute just quoted, from denying'that they are "persons."
Now, by the constitution every person, black as well as white,
is to have justice administered to him without denial or delay.
But by the law, while any unknown white vagrant may be* a
witness in any case whatever, no black suitor is permitted to

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OP COLOR. 383
offer a witness of his own color, however well established may
be his character for intelligence and veracity, to prove his rights
or his wrongs ; and hence in a multitude of cases, justice is de
nied in despite of the constitution ; and why denied ? Solely
from a foolish and wicked prejudice against color.
6. IMPEDIMENTS TO EDUCATION.
No people have ever professed so deep a conviction of the
importance of popular education as ourselves, and no people have
ever resorted to such cruel expedients to perpetuate abject ig
norance. More than one third of the whole population of the
slave States are prohibited from learning even to read, and in
some of them, free men, if with dark complexions, are subject to
stripes for teaching their own children. If we turn to the free
States, we find that in all of them, without exception, the preju
dices and customs of society oppose almost insuperable obstacles
to the acquisition of a liberal education by colored youth. Our
academies and colleges are barred against them. We know
there are instances of young men with dark skins having been
received, under peculiar circumstances, into northern colleges ;
but we neither know nor beheve, that there have been a dozen
such instances within the last thirty years.
Colored children are very generally excluded from our com
mon schools, in consequence of the prejudices of teachers and
parents. In some of our cities there are schools exclusively for
their use, but in the country the colored population is too sparse
to justify such schools ; and white and black children are rarely
seen studying under the same roof; although such cases do
sometimes occur, and then they are confined to elementary
schools. Some colored young men, who could bear the expense,
have obtained in European seminaries the education denied
them in their native land.
It may not be useless to cite an instance of the malignity with
which the education of the blacks is opposed. The efforts made
in Connecticut to prevent the establishment of schools of a
higher order than usual for colored pupils, are too well known

384 jay's works.
to need a recital here ; and her Black Act, prohibiting the in
struction of colored children from other States, although now
expunged from her statute book through the influence of aboli
tionists, will long be remembered to the opprobrium of her citi
zens. We ask attention to the following illustration of public
opinion in another New England State.
In 1834 an academy was built by subscription in Canaan,
New Hampshire, and a charter granted by the Legislature ; and
at a meeting of the proprietors it was determined to receive all
applicants having " suitable moral and intellectual recommenda
tions, without other distinctions ; " in other words, without refer
ence to complexion. When this determination was made known,
a town meeting was forthwith convened, and the following res
olutions adopted, viz. :
" Resolved, that we view with abhorrence the attempt of the aboh
tionists to establish in this town a school for the instruction of the sable
sons and daughters of Africa, in common with our sons and daughters.
" Resolved, that we will not associate with, nor in any way counte
nance, any man or woman who shall hereafter persist in attempting to
establish a school in this town for the exclusive education of blacks, or
for their education in conjunction with the whites."
The frankness of this last resolve is commendable. The
inhabitants of Canaan, assembled in legal town meeting, deter
mined, it seems, that the blacks among them should in future
have no education whatever ; they should not be instructed in
company with the whites, neither should they have schools
exclusively for themselves.
The 'proprietors of the academy supposing, in the simplicity
of their hearts, that in a free country they might use their prop
erty in any manner not forbidden by law, proceeded to open their
school, and in the ensuing spring, had twenty-eight white, and
fourteen colored scholars. The crisis had now arrived when the
cause of prejudice demanded the sacrifice of constitutional
liberty and of private property. Another town meeting was
convoked, at which, without a shadow of authority, and in utter
contempt of law and decency, it was ordered, that the academy
should be forcibly removed, and a committee was appointed to
execute the abominable mandate. Due preparations were made

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 385
for the occasion, and "on the 10th of August, three hundred men
with about two hundred oxen, assembled at the place, and taking
the edifice from off its foundation, dragged it to a distance, and
left it a ruin. No one of the actors in this high-handed outrage
was ever brought before a court of justice to answer for this
criminal and riotous destruction of the property of others.
The transaction we have narrated expresses in emphatic
terms the deep and settled hostility felt in the free States, to the
education of the blacks. The prejudices of the community ren
der that hostility generally effective without the aid of legal
enactments. Indeed, some remaining regard to decency and
the opinion of the world, has restrained the Legislatures of the
free States, with one exception, from consigning these unhappy
people to ignorance by "decreeing unrighteous decrees," and
" framing mischief by a law." Our readers, no doubt, feel that
the exception must of course be Ohio.
We have seen with what deference Ohio legislators profess to
regard their constitutional obligations ; and we are now to con
template another instance of their shameless violation of them.
The constitution which these men have sworn to obey declares,
" No laws shall be passed to prevent the poor of the several
townships and counties in this State from an equal participation in the
schools, academies, colleges, and universities m this State, which are
endowed in whole, or in part, from the revenue arising from donations
made by the United States, for the support of colleges and schools —
and the door of said schools, academies, and universities shall be open
for the reception of scholars, students, and teachers of every grade,
without any distinction or preference whatever."
Can language be more explicit or unequivocal ? But have
any donations been made by the United States for the support
of colleges and schools in Ohio ? Yes ; by an Act of Congress,
the sixteenth section of land in each originally surveyed township
in the State was set apart as a donation for the express purpose
of endowing and supporting common schools. And now, how
have the scrupulous legislators of Ohio, who refuse to acknowl
edge any other than constitutional obligations to give ear to the
cry of distress — how have they obeyed this injunction of the
constitution respecting the freedom of their schools? They
enacted a law in 1831, declaring that, " when any appropriation
33*

386 jay's works.
shall be made by the directors of any school district, from the
treasury thereof, for the payment of a teacher, the school in such
district shall be open" — to whom? — "to scholars, students^
and teachers of every grade, without distinction or preference,
whatever" as commanded by the constitution? Oh no ! — " shall
be open to all the WHITE children residing therein 1 " Such
is the impotency of written constitutions, where a sense of moral
obligation is wanting to enforce them.
We have now taken a review of the Ohio laws against free
people of color. Some of them are of old, and others of recent
date. The opinion entertained of all these laws, new and old,
by the present legislators of Ohio, may be learned by a resolu
tion adopted in January last, (1839) by both houses of the
Legislature. " Resolved, that in the opinion of this General Assembly it is unwise,
impolitic, and inexpedient to repeal any law now in force imposing
disabilities upon black or mulatto persons, thus placing them upon an
equality with the whites, so far as this Legislature can do, and indirectly
inviting the black population of other States to emigrate to this, to
the manifest injury of the public interest."
The best comment on the spirit which dictated this resolve
is an enactment by the same Legislature, abrogating the supreme
law which requires us to " do unto others as we would they
should do unto us," and prohibiting every citizen of Ohio from
harboring or concealing a fugitive slave, under the penalty of
fine or imprisonment. General obedience to this vile statute is
alone wanting to fill to the brim the cup of Ohio's iniquity and
degradation. She hath done what she could to oppress and
crush the free negroes within her borders. She is now seeking
to rechain the slave who has escaped from his fetters.
7. IMPEDIMENTS TO RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.
It is unnecessary to dwell hereon the laws of the slave States
prohibiting the free people of color from learning to read the
Bible, and, in many instances, from assembling at discretion to
worship their Creator. These laws, we are assured, are indis
pensable to the perpetuity of that " pecuhar institution," which
many masters in Israel are now teaching, enjoys the sanction of

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 387
Him who " will have all men to be saved, and to come to the
knowledge of the truth," and who has left to his disciples the
injunction " search the Scriptures." We turn to the free States,
in which no institution requires that the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ should be prevented from shining on any por
tion of the population, and inquire how far prejudice here sup
plies the place of southern statutes.
The impediments to education already mentioned, necessarily
render the acquisition of religious knowledge difficult, and in
many instances impracticable. In the northern cities, the blacks
have frequently churches of their own, but in the country they
are too few and too poor to build churches and maintain minis
ters. Of course they must remain destitute of public worship
and rehgious instruction, unless they can enjoy these blessings
in company with the whites. Now there is hardly a church in
the United States, not exclusively appropriated to the blacks,
in which one of their number owns a pew, or has a voice in the
choice of a minister. There are usually, indeed, a few seats in
a remote part of the church, set apart for their use, and in which
no white person is ever seen. It is surely not surprising, under
all the circumstances of the case, that these seats are rarely
crowded. Colored ministers are occasionally ordained in the different
denominations, but- they are kept at a distance by then- white
brethren in the ministry, and are very rarely permitted to enter
their pulpits; and still more rarely, to sit at their tables,
although acknowledged to be ambassadors of Christ. The dis
tinction of caste is not forgotten, even in the celebration of the
Lord's Supper, and seldom are colored disciples permitted to eat
and drink of the memorials of the Redeemer's passion till after
every white communicant has been served.
8. IMPEDIMENTS TO HONEST INDUSTRY.
In this country ignorance and poverty are almost inseparable
companions ; and it is surely not strange that those should be
poor whom we compel to be ignorant. The liberal professions
are virtually sealed against the blacks, if we except the church,

388 jay's works.
and even in that, admission is rendered difficult by the obstacles
placed in their way in acquiring the requisite literary qualifica
tions ; * and when once admitted, their administrations are
confined to their own color. Many of our most wealthy and
influential citizens have commenced life as ignorant and as pen
niless as any negro who loiters in our streets. Had their com
plexion been dark, notwithstanding their talents, industry,
enterprise and probity, they would have continued ignorant and
penniless, because the paths to learning and to wealth would then
have been closed against them. There is a conspiracy, embracing
all the departments of society, to keep the black man ignorant
and poor. As a general rule, admitting few if any exceptions,
the schools of literature and of science reject him — the counting
house refuses to receive him as a bookkeeper, much more as
a partner — no store admits him as a clerk — no shop as an
apprentice. Here and there a black man may be found keeping
a few trifles on a shelf for sale ; and a few acquire, as if by
stealth, the knowledge of some handicraft ; but almost univers
ally these people, both in town and country, are prevented by
the customs of society from maintaining themselves and their
families by any other than menial occupations.
In 1836, a black man of irreproachable character, and who
by his industry and frugality had accumulated several thousand
dollars, made application in the City of New York for a carman's
license, and was refused solely and avowedly on account of his
* Of the truth of this remark, the trustees of the Episcopal Theological
Seminary at New York, lately (June, 1839) afforded a striking illustration.
A young man, regularly acknowledged by the bishop as a candidate for
orders, and in consequence of such acknowledgment entitled, by an express
statute of the seminary, to admission to its privileges, presented himself as
a pupil. But God had given him a dark complexion, and therefore the trus
tees, regardless of the statute, barred the doors against him, by a formal
and deliberate vote. As a compromise between conscience and prejudice,
the professors offered to give him private instruction — to do in secret what
they were ashamed to do openly — to confer as a favor what he was entitled
to demand as a right. The offer was rejected.
It is worthy of remark, that of the trustees who took an active part against
the colored candidate, one is the Pkesident of the New York Colonization
Society ; another a manager, and a third, one of its public champions ; and
that the bishop of the diocese, who wished to exclude his candidate from
the theological school of which he is both a trustee and a professor, lately
headed a recommendation in the newspapers for the purchase of a packet
ship for Liberia, as likely to "render far more efficient than heretofore, the
enterprise of colonization."

CONDITION OP THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 389
complexion! We have already seen the effort of the Ohio
Legislature to consign the negroes to starvation by deterring
others from employing them. Ignorance, idleness, and vice,
are at once the punishments we inflict upon these unfortunate
people for their complexion ; and the crimes with which we are
constantly reproaching them.

9. LIABILITY TO BE SEIZED, AND TREATED AS SLAVES.
An able-bodied colored man sells in the southern market for
from eight hundred to a thousand dollars ; of course he is worth
stealing. Colonizationists and slave-holders, and many northern
divines, solemnly affirm, that the situation of a slave is far pref
erable to that of a free negro ; hence it would seem an act of
humanity to convert the latter into the former. Kidnapping
being both a lucrative and a benevolent business, it is not strange
it should be extensively practised. In many of the States this
business is regulated by law, and there are various ways in
which the transmutation is legally effected. Thus, in South
Carolina, if a free negro " entertains " a runaway slave, it may
be his own wife or child, he himself is turned into a slave. In
1827, a free woman and her three children underwent this be
nevolent process, for entertaining two fugitive children of six
and nine years old. In Virginia all emancipated slaves remain
ing twelve months in the State, are kindly restored to their
former condition. In Maryland a free negro who marries a
white woman, thereby acquires all the privileges of a slave —
and generally, throughout the slave region, including the District
of Columbia, every negro not known to be free, is mercifully
considered as a slave, and if his master cannot be ascertained
lie is thrown into a dungeon, and there kept, till by a public sale
a master can be provided for him. But often the law grants to
colored men, known to be free, all the advantages of slavery.
Thus, in Georgia, every free colored man coming into the State,
and unable to pay a fine of one hundred dollars, become a slave
for life ; in Florida, insolvent debtors, if black, are SOLD for
the benefit of their creditors ; and in the District of Columbia a

390 jay's works.
free colored man, thrown into jail on suspicion of being a slave
and proving his freedom, is required by law to be sold as a
slave, if too poor to pay his jail fees. Let it not be supposed
that these laws are all obsolete and inoperative. They catch
many a northern negro, who, in pursuit of his own business, or
on being decoyed by others, ventures to enter the slave region ;
and who, of course, helps to augment the wealth of our southern
brethren. On the 6th of March, 1839, a report by a Committee
was made to the House of Representatives of the Massachusetts
Legislature, in which are given the names of seventeen free
colored men who had been enslaved at the South. It also states
an instance in which twenty-five colored citizens, belonging to
Massachusetts, were confined at one time in a southern jail, and
another instance in which seventy-five free colored persons from
different free States were confined, all preparatory to their sale
as slaves according to law.
The facts disclosed in this report induced the Massachusetts
Legislature to pass a resolution protesting against the kidnap
ping laws of the slave States, " as invading the sacred rights of
citizens of this commonwealth, as contrary to the Constitution of
the United States, and in utter derogation of that great principle
of the common law which presumes every person to be innocent
until proved to be guilty ; " and ordered the protest to be for
warded to the Governors of the several States.
But it is not at the South alone that freemen may be con
verted into slaves " according to law." The Act of Congress
respecting the recovery of fugitive slaves, affords most extraor
dinary facilities for this process, through official corruption and
individual perjury. By this Act, the claimant is permitted to
select a justice of the peace, before whom he may bring or send
his alleged slave, and even to prove his property by affidavit.
Indeed, in almost every State in the Union, a slave-holder may
recover at law a human being as his beast of burden, with far
less ceremony than he could his pig from the possession of his
neighbor. In only three States is a man, claimed as a slave, en
titled to a trial by jury. At the last session of the New York
Legislature a bill allowing a jury trial in such cases was passed

CONDITION OP THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 391
by the lower House, but rejected by a democratic vote in the
Senate, democracy in that State being avowedly only skin deep,
all its principles of liberty, equality, and human rights depending
on complexion.
Considering the wonderful ease and expedition with which
fugitives may be recovered by law, it would be very strange if
mistakes did not sometimes occur. How often they occur cannot,
of course, be known, and it is only when a claim is defeated, that
we are made sensible of the exceedingly precarious tenure by
which a poor friendless negro at the North holds his personal
liberty. A few years since, a girl of the name of Mary Gilmore
was arrested in Philadelphia, as a fugitive slave from Maryland.
Testimony was not wanting in support of the claim ; yet it was
most conclusively proved that she was the daughter of poor Irish
parents — having not a drop of negro blood in her veins ; that the
father had absconded, and that the mother had died a drunkard
in the Philadelphia hospital, and that the infant had been kindly
received and brought up in a colored family. Hence the attempt
to make a slave of her. In the spring of 1839, a colored man
was arrested in Philadelphia, on a charge of having absconded
from his owner twenty-three years before. This man had a wife
and family depending upon him, and a home where he enjoyed
their society ; and yet, unless he could find witnesses who could
prove his freedom for more than this number of years, he was
to be torn from his wife, his children, his home, and doomed for
the remainder of his days to toil under the lash. Four witnesses
for the claimant swore to his identity, although they had not
seen him before for twenty-three years ! By a most extraordi
nary coincidence, a New England captain, with whom this negro
had sailed twenty-nine years before, in a sloop from Nantucket,
happened at this very time to be confined: for debt in the same
prison with the alleged slave, and the captain's testimony, to
gether with that of some other witnesses, who had known the
man previous to his pretended elopement, so fully established
his freedom, that the court discharged him.
Another mode of legal kidnapping still remains to be described.
By the Federal Constitution, fugitives from justice are to be de-

392 JAY'S WORKS.
livered up, and under this constitutional provision, a free negro
may be converted into a slave without troubling even a justice of
the peace to hear the evidence of the captor's claim. A fugitive
slave is of course a felon ; he not only steals himself, but also the
rags on his back which belong' to his master. It is understood
-he has taken refuge in New York, and his master naturally
wishes to recover him with as little noise, trouble, and delay as
possible. The way is simple and easy. Let the Grand Jury.
indict A. B. for stealing wearing apparel, and let the indictment,
with an affidavit of the criminal's flight, be forwarded by the
Governor of the State to his Excellency of New York, with a
requisition for the delivery of A. B. to the agent appointed to
receive him. A warrant is, of course, issued to " any constable
of the State of New York," to arrest A. B. For what pur
pose ? — to bring him before a magistrate where his identity may
be established ? — no, but to deliver him. up to the foreign agent.
Hence, the constable may pick up the first likely negro he finds
in the street, and ship him to the South ; and should it be found,
on his arrival on the plantation, that the wrong man has come,
it will also probably be found that the mistake is of no conse
quence to the planter. A few years since, the Governor of New
York signed a warrant for the apprehension of seventeen Vir
ginia negroes, as fugitives from justice.* Under this warrant,
a man who had lived in the neighborhood for three years, and
had a wife and children, and who claimed to be free, was seized,
on a Sunday evening, in the public highway, in West Chester
County, N. Y., and without being permitted to take leave of his
family, was instantly handcuffed, thrown into a carriage, and
hurried to New York, and the next morning was on his voyage
to Virginia.
Free colored men are converted into slaves not only by law,
but also contrary to law. It is, of course, difficult to estimate the
extent to which illegal kidnapping is carried, since a large num-
* There is no evidence that he knew they were negroes, or that he acted
otherwise than in perfect good faith. The alleged crime was stealing a boat.
The real crime, it is said, was stealing themselves and escaping in a boat.
The most horrible abuses of these warrants can only be prevented by requir
ing proof of identity before delivery.

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OP COLOR. 393
ber of cases must escape detection. In a work published by
Judge Stroud, of Philadelphia, in 1827, he states, that it had
been ascertained that more than thirty free colored persons, mostly
children, had been kidnapped in that city within the last two
years.* 10. SUBJECTION TO INSULT AND OUTRAGE.
The feeling of the community towards these people, and the
contempt with which they are treated, are indicated by the fol
lowing notice, lately published by the proprietors of a menagerie,
in New York. " The proprietors wish it to be understood, that
people of color are not permitted to enter, except when in attend
ance upon children and families." For two shillings, any white
scavenger would be freely admitted, and so would negroes, pro
vided they came in a capacity that marked their dependence ;
their presence is offensive, only when they come as independent
spectators, gratifying a laudable curiosity.
Even death, the great leveller, is not permitted to obliterate,
among Christians, the distinction of caste, or to rescue the life
less form of the colored man from the insults of his white breth
ren. In the porch of a Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia,
in 1837, was suspended a card, containing the form of a deed, to
be given to purchasers of lots in a certain burial ground, and to
enhance the value of the property, and to entice buyers, the fol
lowing clause was inserted : " No person of color, nor any one
who has been the subject of execution, shall be interred in said
lot." Our colored fellow-citizens, like others, are occasionally called
to pass from one place to another ; and in doing so are com
pelled to submit to innumerable hardships and indignities. They
are frequently denied seats in our stage coaches ; and although
admitted upon the decks of our steamboats, are almost universally
excluded from the cabins. Even women have been forced, in
cold weather, to pass the night upon deck, and in one instance
* Stroud's Sketch of the Slave Laws, p. 94.
34

394 jay's WORKS.
the wife of a colored clergyman lost her life in consequence of
such an exposure.
The contempt poured upon these people by our laws, our
churches, our seminaries, our professions, naturally invokes upon
their heads the fierce wrath of vulgar malignity. In order to
exhibit the actual condition of this portion of our population, we
will here insert some samples of the outrages to which they are
subjected, taken from the ordinary public journals.
In an account of the New York riots of 1834, the Commercial
Advertiser says :
"About twenty poor African (native American) families, have had
their all destroyed, and have neither bed, clothing, nor food remaining.
Their houses are completely eviscerated, their furniture a wreck, and
the ruined and disconsolate tenants of the devoted houses are reduced
to the necessity ofapplying to the corporation for bread."
The example set in New York was zealously followed in Phil
adelphia. " Some arrangement, it appears, existed between the mob and the
white inhabitants, as the dwelling-houses of the latter, contiguous to
the residences of the blacks, were illuminated and left undisturbed,
while the huts of the negroes were singled out with unerring certainty.
The furniture found in these houses was generally broken up and de
stroyed — beds ripped open and their contents scattered in the streets.
 i . The number of houses assailed was not less than
twenty. In one house there was a corpse, which was thrown from the
coffin, and in another a dead infant was taken out of the bed, and cast
on the floor, the mother being at the same lime barbarously treated." Phil
adelphia Gazette.
"No case is reported of an attack having been invited or provoked
by the residents of the dwellings Eissailed or destroyed. The extent of
the depredations committed on the three evenings of riot and outrage
can only be judged of by the number of houses damaged or destroyed.
So far as ascertained, this amounts to forty-five. One of the houses
assaulted was occupied by an unfortunate cripple, who, unable to fly
froni the fury of the mob, was so beaten by some of the ruffians, that
he has since died in consequence of the bruises and wounds inflicted.
. . . . For the last two days the Jersey steamboats have been
loaded with numbers of the colored population, who, fearful their lives
were not safe in this, determined to seek refuge in another State. On
the Jersey side, tents were erected, and the negroes have taken up a
temporary residence, until a prospect shall be offered for their perpet
ual location in some place of security and liberty." National Gazette.

CONDITION OF THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR. 395
The facts we have now exhibited, abundantly prove the ex
treme cruelty and sinfulness of that prejudice against color
which we are impiously told is an ordination of Providence.
Colonizationists, assuming the prejudice to be natural and invin
cible, propose to remove its victims beyond its influence. Abo
litionists, on the contrary, remembering with the Psalmist, that
" It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves," believe that
the benevolent Father of us all requires us to treat with justice
and kindness every portion of the human family, notwithstanding
any particular organization he has been pleased to impress upon
them. Instead, therefore, of gratifying and fostering this preju
dice, by continually banishing from our country those against
whom it is directed, abolitionists are anxious to destroy the preju
dice itself; feeling, to use the language of another, that " It is
time to recognize in the humblest portions of society, partakers
of our nature with all its high prerogatives and awful destinies —
time to remember that our distinctions are exterior and evanes
cent, our resemblance real and permanent — that all is transient
but what is moral and spiritual — that the only graces we can
carry with us into another world, are graces of divine implanta
tion, and that amid the rude incrustations of poverty and igno
rance there lurks an imperishable jewel — a soul, susceptible of
the highest spiritual beauty, destined, perhaps, to adorn the
celestial abodes, and to shine forever in the mediatorial diadem
of the Son of God. Take heed that ye despise not one of these
little ones."

ADDRESS
TO THE FRIENDS OP CONSTITUTIONAL LIBEETY, ON THE
VIOLATION BY THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE RIGHT
OF PETITION.

1840.

To the Friends of Constitutional Liberty: —
There was a time, fellow citizens, when the above address
would have included the People op the United States.
But, al&s ! the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the
right of petition, are now hated and dreaded by our Southern
citizens, as hostile to the perpetuity of human bondage ; while,
by their political influence in the Federal Government, they
have induced members at the North to unite with them in their
sacrilegious crusade against these inestimable privileges.
On the 28th of January last, the House of Representatives,
on motion of Mr. Johnson, from Maryland, made it a standing
rule of the House that '' no petition, memorial, resolution, or
other paper, praying the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia, or any State or Territory of the United States, in
which it now exists, shall be received by the House, or
entertained in any way whatever."
Thus has the right op petition been immolated in the
very Temple of Liberty, and offered up, a propitiatory sacrifice
to the demon of slavery. Never before has an outrage so
unblushingly profligate been perpetrated upon the Federal Con-
31»

398 jay's works.
stitution. Yet, while we mourn the degeneracy which this
transaction evinces, we behold, in its attending circumstances,
joyful omens of the triumph which awaits our struggle with the
hateful power that now perverts the General Government into
an engine of cruelty and loathsome oppression.
Before we congratulate you on these omens, let us recall to
your recollection the steps by which the enemies of human
rights have advanced to their present rash and insolent defiance
of moral and constitutional obligation.
In 1831, a newspaper was established in Boston, for the pur
pose of disseminating facts and arguments in favor of the duty
and policy of immediate emancipation. The Legislature of
Georgia, with all the recklessness of despotism, passed a law,
offering a reward of $5000, for the abduction of the editor, and
his delivery in Georgia. As there was no law by which a citi
zen of Massachusetts could be tried in Georgia, for expressing
his opinions in the capital of his own State, this reward was
intended as the price of BLOOD. Do you start at the sugges
tion ? Remember the several sums of $25,000, of $50,000, and
of $100,000, offered in Southern papers for kidnapping certain
abolitionists. Remember the horrible inflictions by Southern
Lynch clubs. Remember the declaration, in the United States
Senate, by the brazen-fronted Preston, that, should an abolitionist
be caught in Carolina, he would be HANGED. But, as the
slave-holders could not destroy the lives of the abolitionists, they
determined to murder their characters. Hence, the President of
the United States was induced, in his Message of 1835, to Con
gress, to charge them with plotting the massacre of the Southern
planters ; and even to stultify himself, by affirming that, for this
purpose, they were engaged in sending, by mail, inflammatory
appeals to the slaves — sending papers to men who could not
read them, and by a conveyance through which they could not
receive them ! He well knew that the papers alluded to were
appeals on the immorality of converting men, women, and chil
dren, into beasts 'of burden, and were sent to the masters for
their consideration. The masters in Charleston, dreading the
moral influence of these appeals on the conscience of the slave-

Violation of the right of petition. 399
holding community, forced the Post Office, and made a bonfire
of the papers. The Postmaster- General, with the sanction of
the President, also hastened to their relief, and, in violation of
oaths, and laws, and the Constitution, established ten thousand
censors of the press, each one of whom was authorized to
abstract from the mail every paper which he might think too
favorable to the rights of man.
For more than twenty years, petitions have been presented
to Congress, for the abolition of slavery in the District of Co
lumbia. The right to present them, and the power of Congress ,
to grant their prayer, were, until recently, unquestioned. But
the rapid multiplication of these petitions alarmed the slave
holders, and, knowing that they tended to keep alive at the
North, an interest in the slave, they deemed it good policy to
discourage and, if possible, suppress all such applications.
Hence Mr. Pinckney's famous resolution, in 1836, declaring,
" that all petitions, or papers, relating in any way, or to any
extent whatever to the subject of slavery, shall, without being
printed or referred, be laid on the table ; and no further action
whatever shall be had thereon ! "
The peculiar atrocity of this resolution was, that it not merely
trampled upon the rights of the petitioners, but took from each
member of the House his undoubted privilege, as a legislator of
the District, to introduce any proposition he might think proper,
for the protection of the slaves. In every slave State there are
laws affording, at least, some nominal protection to these unhappy
beings ; but, according to this resolution, slaves might be flayed
alive in the streets of Washington, and no representative of the
people could offer even a resolution for inquiry. And this vile
outrage upon constitutional liberty was avowedly perpetrated
" to repress agitation, to allay excitement, and reestablish har
mony and tranquillity among the various sections of the Union ! ! "
But this strange opiate did not produce the stupefying effects
anticipated from it. In 1836, the petitioners were only 37,000
— the next session they numbered 110,000. Mr. Hawes, of
Kentucky, now essayed to restore tranquillity by gagging the
uneasy multitude ; but, alas ! at the next Congress, more than

400
300,000 petitioners carried new terror to the hearts of the slave
holders. The next anodyne was prescribed by Mr. Patten, of
Virginia, but its effect was to rouse from their stupor some of
the northern Legislatures, and to induce them to denounce his
remedy as " a usurpation of power, a violation of the Constitu
tion, subversive of the fundamental principles of the govern
ment, and at war with the prerogatives of the people." * It
was now supposed that the people must be drugged by a northern
man, and Atherton was found a fit instrument for this vile pur
pose ; but the dose proved only the more nauseous and exciting
from the foul hands by which it was administered.
In these various outrages, although all action on the petitions
was prohibited, the papers themselves were received and laid on
the table, and therefore it was contended, that the right of petition
had been preserved inviolate. But the slave-holders, maddened
by the failure of all their devices, and fearing the influence
which the mere sight of thousands and tens of thousands of
petitions in behalf of liberty, would exert, and taking advantage
of the approaching presidential election to operate upon the sel
fishness of some northern members, have succeeded in crushing
the right of petition itself.
That you may be the more sensible, fellow citizens, of the
exceeding profligacy of the late rule, and of its palable viola
tion of both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution, which
those who voted for it had sworn to support, suffer us to recall
to your recollection a few historical facts.
The framers of the Federal Constitution supposed the right
of petition too firmly established in the habits and affections of
the people, to need a constitutional guaranty. Their omission to
notice it aroused the jealousy of some of the State conventions,
called to pass upon the constitution. The Virginia convention
proposed, as an amendment, " that every freeman has a right to
petition, or apply to the Legislature, for a redress of grievances."
And this amendment, with others, was ordered to be forwarded
to the different States, for their consideration. The conventions
of North Carolina, New York, and Rhode Island, were held
* Resolutions of Massachusetts and Connecticut, April and May, 1838.

VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT OF PETITION. 401
subsequently, and, of course, had before them the Virginia
amendment. The North Carolina convention adopted a declar
ation of rights, embracing the very words of the proposed
amendment ; and this declaration was ordered to be submitted
to Congress, before that State would enter the Union. The
conventions of New York and of Rhode Island incorporated in
their certificates of ratification, the assertion that " Every person
has a right to petition or apply to the Legislature for a redress
of grievances " — using the Virginia phraseology, merely substi
tuting the word person for freeman, thus claiming the right of
petition even for slaves ; while Virginia and North Carolina
confined it to freemen.
The first Congress, assembled under the Constitution, gave
effect to the wishes thus emphatically expressed, by proposing,
as an amendment, that " Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof, or abridging the freedom of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition Government for a
redress of grievances." This amendment was duly ratified by
the States, and when members of Congress swear to support the
Constitution of the United States, they are as much bound by
their oath to refrain from abridging the right of petition, as they
are to fulfil any other constitutional obligation. And will the
slave-holders and their abettors dare to maintain that they have
not foresworn themselves, because they have abridged the right
of the people to petition for a redress of grievances by a rule
of the House, and not by a law ? If so, they may by a rule
require every member, on taking his seat, to subscribe to the
creed of a particular church, and then call their Maker to
witness that they are guiltless of making a law " respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof." The right to petition is one thing, and the disposition of a
petition after it is received, is another. But the new rule makes
no disposition of the petitions; it prohibits their reception;
they may not be brought into the legislative chamber. Hun-

402 jay's works.
dreds of thousands of the people are debarred all access to their
representatives, for the purpose of offering them a prayer.
It is said that the manifold abominations perpetrated in the
District are no grievances to the petitioners, and therefore they
have no right to ask for their removal. But the right guaran
teed by the Constitution, is a right to ask for the redress of
grievances, whether personal, social, or moral. And who, ex
cept a slave-holder, will dare to contend that it is no grievance
that our agents, our representatives, our servants, in our name
and by our authority, enact laws erecting and licensing markets
in the Capital of the Republic, for the sale of human beings,
and converting free men into slaves for no other crime than
that of being too poor to pay United States officers the jail
fees accruing from an iniquitous imprisonment ?
Again, it is pretended that the objects prayed for are palpa
bly unconstitutional, and that therefore the petitions ought not to
be received. And by what authority are the people deprived
of their right to petition for any object which a majority of
either House of Congress, for the time being, may please to
regard as unconstitutional ? If this usurpation be submitted to,
it will not be confined to abolition petitions. It is well known
that most of the slave-holders now insist, that all protecting
duties are unconstitutional, and that on account of the tariff the
Union was nearly rent by the very men who are now horrified
by the danger to which it is exposed by these petitions ! Should
our northern manufacturers again presume to ask Congress to
protect them from foreign competition, the southern members will
find a precedent, sanctioned by northern votes, for a rule that
" no petition, memorial, resolution, or other paper, praying for
the imposition of duties for the encouragement of man
ufactures, shall be received by the House, or entertained in
any way whatever."
It does indeed require southern arrogance to maintain that,
although Congress is invested by the Constitution with " exclu
sive jurisdiction, in all cases whatsoever," over the District of
Columbia, yet that it would be so palpably unconstitutional to

violation of the right of petition. 403
abolish the slave-trade, and to emancipate the slaves in the
District, that petitions for these objects ought not to be received.
Yet this is asserted in that very House, on whose minutes is
recorded a resolution, in 1816, appointing a committee, with
power to send for persons and papers, " to inquire into the ex
istence of an inhuman and illegal traffic in slaves, carried on, in
and through the District of Columbia, and report whether any,
and what means are necessary for putting a stop to the same : "
and another, in 1829, instructing, the Committee on the District
of Columbia to inquire into the expediency of providing by law,
" for the gradual abolition of slavery in the District."
In the very first Congress assembled under the Federal Con
stitution, petitions were presented, asking its interposition fbr
the mitigation of the evils, and final abolition of the African
slave-trade, and also praying it, as far as it possessed the power,
to take measures for the abolition of slavery. These petitions
excited the wrath and indignation of many of the slave-holding
members, yet no one thought of refusing to receive them. They
were referred to a select committee, at the instance of Mr.
Madison himself, who "entered into a critical review of the
circumstances respecting the adoption of the Constitution, and
the ideas upon the limitation of the powers of Congress, to
interfere in the regulation of the commerce of slaves, and showed
that they undoubtedly were not precluded from interposing in
their importation ; and generally to regulate the mode in which
every species of business shall be transacted. He adverted to
the western country, and the cession of Georgia, in which Con
gress have certainly the power to regulate the subject of slavery ;
which shows that gentlemen are mistaken in supposing that
Congress cannot constitutionally interfere in the business in any
degree whatever. He was in favor of committing the petition,
and justified the measure by repeated precedents in the pro
ceedings of the House." U. S. Gazette, 11th Feb., 1790.
Here we find one of the earliest and ablest expounders of
the Constitution, maintaining the power of Congress to " regu
late the subject of slavery " in the national territories, and urg
ing the reference of abolition petitions to a special committee.

404 jay's works.
The committee made a report, for which, after a long debate,
was substituted a declaration, by the House, that Congress could
not abolish the slave-trade prior to the year 1808, but had a
right so to regulate it as to provide for the humane treatment of
the slaves on the passage ; and that Congress could not inter
fere in the emancipation or treatment of slaves in the States.
This declaration gave entire satisfaction, and no farther
abolition petitions were presented, till after the District of
Columbia had been placed under the " exclusive jurisdiction "
of the General Government.
You all remember, fellow citizens, the wide-spread excite
ment which a few years since prevailed on the subject of Sun
day mails. Instead of attempting to quiet the agitation, by
outraging the rights of the petitioners, Congress referred the
petitions to a committee, and made no attempt to stifle discus
sion. Why, then, we' ask, with such authorities and precedents
before them, do the slave-holders in Congress, regardless of
their oaths, strive to gag the friends of freedom, under pretence
of allaying agitation ? Because conscience does make cowards
of them all— because they know the accursed system they are
upholding will not bear the light — because they fear, if these
petitions are discussed, the abominations of the American slave-
trade, the secrets of the prison-houses in Washington and Alex
andria, and the horrors of the human shambles licensed by the
authority of Congress, will be exposed to the scorn and indigna
tion of the civilized world.
Unquestionably the late rule surpasses, in its profligate con
tempt of constitutional obligation, any act in the annals of the
Federal Government. As such it might well strike every pat
riot with dismay, were it not that attending circumstances teach
us that it is the expiring effort of desperation. When we reflect
on the past subserviency of our northern representatives to the
mandates of the slave-holders, we may well raise on the present
occasion, the shout of triumph, and hail the vote on the recent
rule as the pledge of a glorious victory. Suffer us to recall to
your recollection the majorities by which the successive attempts

violation of the right op petition. 405
t
to crush the right of petition and the freedom of debate have
been carried.
Pinckney's Gag was passed May, 1836, by a majority of 51
Hawes's "  Jan. 1837,  58
Patton's  Dec. 1837,  48
Atherton's "  Dec. 1838,  48
Johnson's «  Jan. 1840,  6
Surely, when we find the majority against us reduced from 58
to 6, we need no new incentive to perseverance.
Another circumstance which marks the progress of constitu
tional liberty, is the gradual diminution in the number of our
northern serviles. The votes from the free States in favor of the
several gags were as follows :
For Pinckney's,  62
For Hawes's,  70
For Patton's, • • •  52
For Atherton's,  49)
For Johnson's,  28
There is also another cheering fact connected with the passage
of the role which deserves to be noticed. Heretofore the
slave-holders have uniformly, by enforcing the previous ques
tion, imposed their several gags by a silent vote. On the present
occasion they were twice baffled in their efforts to stifle debate,
and were, for days together, compelled to listen to speeches on a
subject which they have so often declared should not be dis
cussed. A base strife for southern votes has hitherto, to no small
extent, enlisted both the political parties at the North in the
service of the slave-holders. The late unwonted independence
of northern politicians, and the deference paid by them to the
wishes of their own constituents, in preference to those of their
southern colleagues, indicate the advance of pubhc opinion.
No less than forty-nine northern members of the administration
party voted for the Atherton gag, while only twenty-seven dared
to record their names in favor of Johnson's ; and of the repre
sentation of SIX States, every vote was given against the rule,
without distinction of party. The tone in which opposite politi-
33

406 JAt'g, works.
cal journals denounce the late outrage may warn the slave-holders
that they will not much longer hold the North in bonds. The
leading administration paper in the city of New York regards
the .rule with "utter abhorrence ; " while the official paper of the
opposition, edited by the State printer, trusts that the names of
the recreant northerners who voted for it may be " handed
down to eternal infamy and execration."
The advocates of abolition are no longer consigned to unmiti
gated contempt and obloquy. Passing by the various living
illustrations of our remark, we appeal for our proofs to the dead.
The late William Leggett, the editor of a Democratic Jour
nal in the city of New York, was denounced, in 1835, by the
" Democratic Republican General Committee," for his abolition
doctrines. Far from faltering in his course, on account of the
censure of his own party, he exclaimed, with a presentiment
almost amounting to prophecy, " The stream of public opinion
now sets against us, but it is about to turn, and the regurgitation
will be tremendous. Proud in that day may well be the man
who can float in triumph on the first refluent wave, swept onward
by the deluge which he himself, in advance of his fellows, had
largely shared in occasioning. Such be my fate ; and, living
or dying, it will in some measure be mine. I have written my
name in ineffaceable letters on the abolition record." And he
did live to behold the first swelling of the refluent wave. The
denounced abolitionist was honored by a Democratic President
with a diplomatic mission ; and since his death, the resolution
condemning him has been expunged from the minutes of the
Democratic committee.
Of the many victims of the recent awful calamity in our
waters, what name has been most frequently uttered by the
pulpit and the press in the accents of lamentation and panegyric ?
On whose tomb have freedom, philanthropy, and letters been
invoked to strew their funeral wreaths ? All who have heard
of the loss of the Lexington are famihar with the name of
Charles Follen. And who was he ? One of the men offi
cially denounced by President Jackson as a gang of miscreants,
plotting insurrection and murder — and recently a member

violation op THE RIGHT of petition. 407
of the Executive Committee of the American Anti-Slavery
Society. Let us then, fellow-citizens, in view of all these things, thank
God and take courage. We are now contending, not merely for
the emancipation of our unhappy fellow-men, kept in bondage
under the authority of our own representatives — not merely for
the overthrow of the human shambles erected by Congress on
the national domain — but also for the preservation of those
great constitutional rights which were acquired by our fathers,
and are now assailed by the slave-holders and their northern
auxiliaries. That you may remember these auxiliaries and
avoid giving them new opportunities of betraying your rights,
we annex a list of their dishonored names.
The following twenty-eight members from the free States
voted in the affirmative on the recent gag rule.
MAINE.
Virgil D. Parris, Albert Smith.
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Charles G. Atherton, Ira A. Eastman,
Edmund Burke, Tristram Shaw.
NEW YORK.
Nehemiah H. Earie, James de la Montayne,
John Fine, John H. Prentiss,
Nathaniel Jones, Theron R. Strong.
Governeur Kemble,
PENNSYLVANIA.
John Davis, George M'Cullough,
Joseph Fornance, David Petriken,
James Gerry, William S. Ramsay.
OHIO.
D. P. Leadbetter, George Sweeney,
William Medifi, Jonathan Taylor,
Isaac Parrish, John B. Wefier.
INDIANA.
John Davis, George H. Proffit.
ILLINOIS.

John Reynolds.

408 jay's works.
Let us turn to our more immediate representatives, and, we
trust, more faithful servants'. Our State Legislatures will not
refuse to hear our prayers. Let us petition them immediately
to rebuke the treason by which the Constitution has been sur
rendered into the hands of the slave-holders ; let us implore
them to demand from Congress, in the name of the free States,
that they shall neither destroy nor abridge the right of peti
tion, — a right without which our government would be con
verted into a despotism.
We call on you, fellow-citizens of every religious faith and
party name, to unite with us in guarding the citadel of our
country's freedom. If there are any who will not cooperate
with us in laboring for the emancipation of the slave, surely
there are none who will stand aloof from us while contending
for the liberty of themselves, their children, and their children's
children. To the rescue, then, fellow citizens ! and, trusting in Him
without whom all human effort is weakness, let us not doubt
that our faithful endeavors to preserve the rights He has given
us, will, through His blessing, be crowned with success.
New York, February 13, 1840.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
TO THE REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH CONTAINED IN
THE RECENT "HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT
EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN AMERICA," BY
THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.

1846.

It is not probable that the reader has ever seen the History
mentioned in our title. That a history of the American Church,
from its earliest date down to the death of Bishop White, .writ
ten by a dignitary of the mother Church, distinguished alike by
his honored name and elevated rank, should be almost un
known in this country, is a singular and very pecuhar fact. No
people are more sensitive than ourselves to the opinions of for
eigners ; and American Episcopalians naturally feel much inter
est in the views entertained of them by their English brethren-
Indeed, the interest is not confined to such views, but extends to
whatever affects the English Church. The parties which agitate
the establishment are reflected in our controversies ; and the
tracts and volumes issued by the theological combatants on the
other side of the water, are republished and eagerly perused on
this. Yet here is a history of ourselves, in no small degree eulo
gistic, and on various accounts claiming our attention, which has
been virtually suppressed.
It is indeed true, that as soon as the book reached our shores,
one or two of our " enterprising publishers" announced their in
tention of reprinting it, and one of the proposed editions was to
35*

410 jay's works.
have been introduced to the notice of the Church under the
auspices of a Right Reverend editor. But these announce
ments have been followed by " expressive silence." More than
twelve months have elapsed, and the Church is still without an
American copy of the History. This concealment of Dr. Wil-
berforce's work is obviously intentional, and not accidental. The
very title of the book and the name of the author would have
secured a rapid sale for the reprint. Some weighty motive must
have induced our publishers to abandon their original mtention,
at the sacrifice of pecuniary interest. The motive is obvious,
and probably one or more southern bishops have exerted their
influence. The author of the History, in the course of his work,
advances certain doctrines on the subject of Slavery, and of
Caste in the Church, whlch'it is thought inconvenient to
discuss, and which cannot be admitted in this Republic without
sealing the condemnation of almost every Christian sect among
us, and overwhelming our own Church with shame and confu
sion. There are, it is to be feared, but few among our twelve
hundred clergymen, who, on reading the History, would not find
their consciences whispering, " Thou art the man," and who
would not be anxious to conceal the volume from their parishion
ers. Hence its suppression.
It is common to personify the Church, and to speak of her as
of some spotless celestial being ; and yet she, in fact, consists of
her clerical and lay members, each one of whom must personally
answer at the bar of Christ for his participation in every sin
committed by the Church. Surely, it would be more becoming
!, Christian men to inquire how far they are individually guilty of
the offences charged upon them by Bishop Wilberforce, than to
endeavor to stifle investigation, by burying in oblivion the faithful
and Christain rebuke of their English brother.
Religious establishments tend to render the clergy obsequious
to the civil ruler, and our voluntary system tempts them to do
homage to the most capricious and irresponsible of all tyrants,
the will of the multitude. Let us see what true and faithful
allegiance our "Primitive and Apostolic Church" has borne to
this American despot.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 411
On the 21st of August, 1831, occurred the negro insurrection
and massacre at Southampton, Virginia. This disastrous evenlj
necessarily directed public attention, both at the North and the
South, to the subject of slavery. In one portion of the Union
stronger fetters were forged for the bondman, and greater efforts
made to banish to Africa the free colored man, whose presence
it was supposed quickened the aspirations of the slave for freer
dom. In the other portion, this insurrection impressed on a few
pious and reflecting minds a conviction both of the moral and
political evils <of slavery, and of the duty of combined action for j
its total abolition. In 1832 the New England Anti-Slavery So-i
ciety was formed, and the succeeding year witnessed the organi
zation of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Auxiliary asso
ciations sprang rapidly into being, funds were liberally bestowed,
presses were established, and publications portraying the abom
inations of the system were abundantly scattered throughout
the land.
This agitation both alarmed and irritated the slave-holders ;
and while .on the one hand they endeavored to intimidate the
abolitionists by their murderous violence, they appealed to the
selfish passions of the northern community, by promising their
votes and their trade to such only as would aid in suppressing
the discussion of slavery. Immediately, our contending factions
and our commercial cities rivalled each other in demonstrations
of sympathy for their " southern brethren," and of abhorrence
for abohtionists. The clergy, yielding to the blast, generally
observed a prudent silence, while a few, to prove their freedom
from fanaticism, assailed the abolitionists for their violence and
rashness, protesting, however, against being considered the ad
vocates of slavery "in the abstract."
On the clergy of the South, however, a more onerous task was
imposed. The northern movement was a religious one, impelled
by a belief of the sinfulness of slavery. Hence it became im
portant that southern consciences should be encased in mail, im-
"penetrable to anti-slavery missiles. The fabrication of such a
panoply was consigned to the ministers of Christ, and significant
. hints were given them that they must not shrink from the work.

412 jay's WORKS.
A meeting of slave-holders in Mississippi, after resolving that
any individual who should circulate anti-slavery papers in the State
"is justly worthy, in the sight of God and man, of immediate
death," voted, "that the clergy of the State of Mississippi' be
hereby recommended at once to take a stand upon this subject,
and that their further silence in relation to this subject (slavery)
will, in our opinion, be subject to serious censure."
This pastoral admonition from the Lynchers was received with
due reverence by those to whom it was directed. Presently two
Mississippi Presbyteries passed resolutions in favor of the Chris
tian character of slavery. A Mississippi divine published an
elaborate vindication of the system, and a Methodist periodical
in the State announced that it would " recognize the right of man
to hold property in man."
In other slave States the clergy were suddenly aroused to a
new energy in vindicating the divine institution of human bond
age. Presbyteries, Methodist conferences, Baptist associations,
individual ministers, were busily at work descanting on the sin
of Ham, and the curse pronounced on Canaan, discussing He
brew servitude, and proving that negro slavery was not forbid
den in the New Testament. As a specimen of the fulminations
launched by some of these servants of the Most High against ab
ohtionists, we may cite the peroration of an address to a meeting
of slave-holders in South Carolina by the Rev. Mr. Postell, of
the-Methodist Church. " Shunabolition as "you ~would the
_TJevil. Do your duty as citizens and Christians, and in heaven
you will be rewarded, and delivered from abolitionism."
In this mighty rivalry in preaching smooth things to the slave
holders, " the sects " were not permitted to gain a triumph. On
the 27th of November, 1836, the Rev. George W. Freeman,
after morning service, ascended the pulpit of Christ Church,
Raleigh, North Carolina, and announced to his delighted hear
ers the good news that the slavery of white men and of black
men, of the wise and of the simple, of the learned and of the
ignorant, was sanctioned by God, and approved by Jesus Clirist
and his holy apostles. This commissioned ambassador of the
Redeemer proclaimed, *' that no man nor set of men in our

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 413
DAY, UNLESS THEY CAN PRODUCE A NEW REVELATION FROM
Heaven, are entitled to pronounce slavery wrong ; and
that SLAVERY AS IT EXISTS AT THE PRESENT DAY IS AGREE
ABLE TO THE ORDER OF DlVINE PROVIDENCE."
The fact that any institution involves duties, proves its law
fulness, since no duty can attach to a sinful practice. Hence
our preacher, after employing the morning of the Lord's day in
expounding the divine rights of the slave-holders, devoted the
afternoon of the same holy time in proclaiming their duties.
The slave-holder was reminded that he was under a moral obli
gation to punish his slaves when they deserved punishment ; but
he must not be too severe, nor chastise when in a passion ; nor
ought he to overwork them. He is bound, moreover, to have the
slave children baptized, and orally taught to say the Creed, the
Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. " It is not neces
sary," said the man of God, " that they should be taught to read ; "
but, nevertheless, the master was declared to be as respon
sible for the souls of his slaves as for those of his own children !
Such are the duties which spring from this Scriptural institu
tion ; duties which, fortunately for the master's convenience,
involve no regard for the marriage of his slaves, no respect for
their conjugal or parental rights, and impose no restrictions on
the sale of men, women, and children in the market ; at least, no
obligations of this sort were adverted to by the preacher.
These two sermons certainly formed the most acceptable
offering which any clergyman had yet laid on the altar of sla
very. The hints about the bondage of white men, the necessity
of a new revelation, before slavery could be pronounced wrong,
and the connection of religjaM&J^ies^ with the institution, could
not fail of convincing the slave-holder, that in thfiJ&PiS-C opal
Church he would find an asylum from the taunts and repro-aches
of the civilized world ; that from her" altarsTfe~could gather
balm for his wounded conserence;~aji6r that "in her~cuurts, he
could, without ^istraetion^form^fiis'scnemes^of "traffic in human
beings, and forge the chains by which -they were to be held in
subjection. It was, of course, important that slave-holders gen
erally should participate in the joyful intelligence imparted to

414 jay's WORKS.
the congregation of Christ Church. The news might be spread
by the press, but what assurance could be given that the gratifying
declarations made by Mr. Freeman, a private and obscure Pres
byter, were authorizedby"competent ecclesiastical authority?
The sermons were published under the imposing title of '.Hhe,
Rights a^dDutte^ofSlave-holders," and bore the follow
ing imprimatur Worn the Bishop of the Diocese :
" Raleigh, Nov. 30, 1836.
" Rev. and Dear Brother, — I listened with most unfeigned pleasure
to the discourses delivered last Sunday, on the character of slavery
and the duties of masters. And as I learn a publication of them is
solicited, I beg, from a conviction of their being urgently called for
at the present time, that you will not withhold your consent.
" With high regard, your affectionate friend,
and Brother in the Lord, "L. S.IVES.
" To the Rev. George W. Freeman."
This letter was obviously written, not for its professed pur
pose of overcoming Mr. Freeman's reluctance to appear in print,
but to let the slave-holders of North Carolina know, that al
though their bishop was a northern man, his conscience was
thoroughly acclimated ; and that bold and startling as were the
doctrines of the Raleigh preacher, they would be maintained in
all their length and breadth by Episcopal authority. The
Church in North Carolina, by this authoritative publication,
far exceeded all the " sects," in the slave region, in her fearless
championship of slavery in the " abstract," and " as it exists at
the present day." But the diocese was not permitted long to
enjoy this proud preeminence. Her sister of South Carolina
quickly shared it with her. The Society for " the Advancement
of Christianity," (!) consisting of clergymen and laymen, with
the Bishop at their head, seized upon Freeman's pamphlet, and
reprinted it, imprimatur and all, as a religious tract for gratui
tous distribution.
But there was still one circumstance, which, in times of alarm
and despondency, was calculated to weaken the confidence of
the slave-holder in the strength and permanency of the fortress
which had thus kindly opened its gates to receive him. Most

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 415
of thej^hgiojisJlenominations of the .South .were connected with
their^jierthern--brethren_ hy_gen.eraL-eeGlesiastieah judicatories.
Already had alarming discussions occurred in the Presbyterian
Assembly, and the Methodist Conference, and the Baptist Mis
sion JBpard, and it was painfully apparent that in these bodies
" the rights and duties of slave-holders " were viewed in very-
different colors from the glowing tints in which Freeman had
painted them. The Episcopal Church at the South was subject
to the jurisdiction of the General Convention, and what
security could be given that a body embracing northern as well
as southern delegates, would not repudiate the doctrines of the
Raleigh sermons ? Lynch law could indeed control the southern
pulpit as well as the southern press ; but the consciences and
the characters of the slave-holders were assailed from the North.
There the Dissenters were gradually abandoning the cause of
human bondage. Under the strong pressure of public opinion,
and in utter contempt of the well-known sentiments of the
Church of England, and indeed of the moral sense of Christen
dom, could it be hoped that the northern section of the Episco
pal Church would, in General Convention, tolerate, much less
approve of the extreme, ultra pro-slavery views of the Rev.
George W. Freeman ?
All questions of this sort were most explicitly answered by
the last Convention, as appears by an extract from the minutes
of the House of Clerical and Lay Delegates :
" The following message was received : ' House of Bishops, Oct.
22, 1844. The House of Bishops inform the House of Clerical and Lay
Deputies, that they have nominated the Rev. George W. Freeman,
D. D., rector of Immanuel Church, Delaware, a missionary Bishop,
to exercise Episcopal functions in the State of Arkansas, and in the
Indian Territory, south of 36 1-2 degrees of parallel of latitude,
and to exercise Episcopal supervision over the Missions of the Church
in the Republic of Texas. Attest, Jonathan M. Wainwright,
Sec'y.' " On motion of Rev. Dr. Tyng, the nomination of the Bishop of
Arkansas and Texas (as above) was unanimously assented to."
It was not enough thus to elevate the reckless defender of
slavery to the high and holy office of a Bishop in the Church of
God, but he must be selected as an apostle to Texas'! There

416 jay's works.
was, indeed, a peculiar significance in this selection. The odium
in which the people of Texas were held by the Christian com
munity at large, arose not merely from their general profligacy,
but also, and chiefly, from their conduct in relation to slavery.
Taking possession of lands belonging to Mexico, they reestab
lished slavery upon the very soil from which it had been recently
banished by that Roman Catholic government. To secure to
themselves the unmolested enjoyment of their human chattels,
they raised the standard of rebellion, and with the aid of south
ern slave-holders erected themselves into an independent Re
public. Having thus, as they professed, achieved their own
liberty, they adopted a constitution rendering the bondage of
others hopeless and perpetual ; and outraging alike the dictates
of nature and of justice, ordained that no free mulatto should
ever live in Texas, thus dooming their own colored offspring,
for all time to come, to slavery or to exile !
The southern slave-holders were exceedingly anxious that
Texas should be admitted into the Union, for the double purpose
of strengthening the slave interest, and opening a new market
for the benefit of the breeding States. For the same reasons,
in addition to the odious character of the Texans, the proposed
annexation was resisted by the almost united moral feeling of
the whole North. The question of annexation was agitating the
nation when the Convention assembled, and the selection of
Freeman as Bishop of Texas was virtually, whether so intended
or not, a repudiation by the Protestant Episcopal Church in
General Convention assembled, of the moral objections urged
against the admission of that Republic into our confederacy.
The Church sent to the Texans a man who, she knew, would
confirm and strengthen them by apostolic instruction and bene
diction in those great principles of their constitution, which had
excited the execration of the Christian world.
Let us now take a view of that institution, which, the Texan
Bishop assures us, enjoys the approval of Clirist and his Apostles.
He tells us,
" There was in general no distinction of color, no prevailing differ
ence in the conformation of the features and lhnbs,~no striking disshni-

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 417
larity in the intellectual powers, to mark the line of separation between
the masters and their bondmen, and stamp them as different races of
men. No peculiarity of this kind existed which would have prevented
those who were slaves, had they been placed in other circumstances,
from taking rank in society, and looking forward to the highest dis
tinctions in the community. Had they not been slaves, they would
have become magistrates, nobles, or rulers ; respected by multitudes
as equals, or venerated as superiors."
Here, it will be observed, we have none of the usual nonsense
about the curse of Canaan, nor of the usual blasphemy about
negroes being created by God for slaves. Jesus Christ and his
apostles approved of the bondage of white men as intelligent as
their masters : and of course the whole of our present bench of
Bishops, including Bishop Freeman himself, might, under certain
circumstances, be lawfully reduced to slavery, and righteously
held as chattels by Christian men.
We are expressly referred in the sermons, to Roman slavery,
as that which enjoyed the sanction of the great Head of the
Church. And what was Roman jblavery. ? Our answer to
this question is taken from a very learned work, whose state
ments are all verified by references to Roman authorities.*
" The slave had no protection against the avarice, rage, or lust of
the master, whose authority was founded in absolute property ; and the
bondman was viewed less as a human being subject to arbitrary domin
ion, than as an inferior animal, dependent wholly on the will of his
owner. At first, the master possessed the uncontrolled power of life
and death. He might kill, mutilate or torture his slaves, for any or no
offence ; he might force them to become gladiators or prostitutes.
The temporary unions of male with female slaves were formed and
dissolved at his command ; families and friends were separated when
he pleased. The laws recognized no obligation upon the owners of
slaves, to furnish them with food and clothing, or to take care of them
in sickness. Slaves could have no property but by the sufferance of
their master, for whom they acquired everything, and with whom they
could form no engagements which would be binding on him. The
master might transfer his rights by either sale or gift, or might be
queathe them by will. A master selling, giving or bequeathing a slave,
sometimes made it a provision that he should never be carried abroad,
or that he should be manumitted on a fixed day ; or that, on the other
hand, he should never be emancipated, or that he should be kept in
chains for life. While slaves turned the handmill, they were generally
chained, and had a broad wooden collar, to prevent them from eating
•"Blair's Inquiry into the State of Slavery among the Romans, from the
earliest period, to the establishment of the Lombards in Italy."
36

418 jay's WORKS.
the grain. Thefurca, which in later language means a gibbet, was, in
older dialect, used to denote a wooden fork or collar, which was made
to bear upon their shoulders or around their necks, as a mark of dis
grace as much as an uneasy burden. Fetters and chains were much
used for punishment or restraint, and were, in some instances, worn
by slaves during life, through the sole authority of the master. Porters
of the* gates of the rich were generally chained. Field laborers worked
for the most part in irons posterior to^ the first ages of the Republic.
Some persons made it their business to catch runaway slaves.* The
runaway, when taken, was severely punished by authority of the master,
or by the judge at his desire ; sometimes with crucifixion, amputation
of a foot, or by being sent to fight as a gladiator with wild beasts ; but
most frequently by being branded on the brow with letters indicative
of his crime. Cruel masters sometimes hired torturers by profession,
or had such persons in their establishments, to assist them in punishing
their slaves. The noses, and ears, and teeth of slaves were olten in
danger from an enraged owner ; and sometimes the eyes of a great
offender were put out. Crucifixion was very frequently made the fate
of a wretched slave for trifling misconduct, or from mere caprice. By
a decree passed by the Senate, if a master was murdered, when his
slaves might possibly have aided him, all his household within reach
were held as implicated and deserving of death ; and Tacitus relates an
instance in which a family of four hundred were all executed."
Such was the slavery which the Bishop of Texas tells us was
found " extensively established in the Roman Empire, embracing
nearly all the civilized world, by our Saviour, when he appeared
on earth ; and that neither he, nor his inspired apostles after
him, ever expressed any disapprobation of it, or left on record a
single precept directing its discontinuance ; and what then is the
conclusion ? Why, surely this much, if nothing farther, that no
man nor set of men in our day, unless they can produce A new
REVELATION PROM HEAVEN ARE ENTITLED TO PRONOUNCE IT
WRONG"! Let us next endeavor to acquire some idea of the number of
the bondmen, whose prison-house, if we believe the Right Rev.
* This profession is not unknown among ourselves, as appears from the
following notice in the Sumner County (Alabama) Whig.
" NEGRO DOGS.
" The undersigned having bought the entire pack of Negro Dogs, (of the
Hay and Allen stock,) he now proposes to catch runaway negroes. His
charges will be. Three Dollars per day for hunting, and Fifteen Dollars for
catching a runaway. He resides three and one-half miles north of Livingston,
near the lower Jones' Bluff road. "WILLIAM GAMBEL.
"Nov. 6, 1845 — 6m."

REPROOF OP THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 419
Texan Father in God, was barred and bolted by Him who gave
his life a ransom for many. Gibbon estimates the whole slave
population of the Roman Empire in the reign of the Emperor
Claudius at sixty millions (I, 53), and Blair regards this
estimate as much too small.
It is important to ascertain how this prodigious multitude were
reduced to bondage ; because as our spiritual champions of sla
very invariably omit to explain the scriptural process of con
verting free men into slaves, .we are left to seek instruction in
this branch of our duty from the Romans ; since, as in no one
instance were they rebuked by Christ and his apostles, for any
of their various contrivances for manufacturing slaves, the con
clusion is, surely, " this much, if nothing further, that no man
nor set of men in our day, unless they can produce a new reve
lation from Heaven, are entitled " to pronounce any of the Roman
methods of making slaves, " wrong."
The most prolific source of slavery was war. Livy informs
us that after the fall of the Samnites at Aquilone, about 36,000
prisoners were sold ; and Plutarch, that 150,000 of the people
of Epirus were sold for the benefit of the army under Paulus
JEmilius ; and we learn from Cicero, that when Pindenissus
was taken, the inhabitants were made slaves. Hence, should a
Mexican force hereafter make an incursion into Texas, and
carry off the Bishop, his wife and children, and sell them to dif
ferent masters, under whom they should be compelled to spend
their days in unceasing toil — condemned to all the misery and
degradation of Roman bondmen, — the Bishop would have the
consolation of knowing that the treatment he experienced was
in, perfect consistency with that Gospel which he had himself
preached. Commerce was another mode of acquiring slaves. A pro
digious slave-trade was carried on in the countries bordering on
the Euxine, with various Provinces in Asia, with Thrace, and
even with Spain and Great Britain. Here we learn how pre
sumptuous it is to denounce the African slave-trade as sinful.
The Profession of Christianity was occasionally visited

420 jay's works.
by the Romans with slavery. At the present day, it affords no
security against American slavery, nor deliverance from it.
There were still four other modes of acquiring slaves, which
are particularly interesting to us ; because, having been copied
by us from the Roman law, we can have no scruples about their
lawfulness : for had they been wrong, Christ and his apostles,
according to Bishop Freeman, would have condemned them.
1. The sale of children by their fathers. With us the privi
lege is confined to the sale of children by a slave mother. In
the Bishop's Diocese, this privilege was nearly converted into a
necessity, by the constitutional provision which required the
bondage or expulsion of every mulatto child.
2. Selling persons convicted of crimes. Among the Romans,
persons convicted of certain offences were sold as slaves, and
their posterity after them were doomed to bondage. Similar
laws for converting free negroes and mulattoes into slaves are
in force in several of our States. Thus, in South Carolina, if a
free negro " entertains a runaway slave," he forfeits ten pounds ;
and if, as must generally be the case, he cannot pay the fine, he
is sold. In 1827, a free woman and her two children were con
verted into slaves under this law, for sheltering two fugitive
slave children !
3. Debtors sold by their creditors. By a law of the late ter
ritory of Florida, approved by Congress, (!) when a judgment
obtained against a free colored person, shall remain unsatisfied
for five days, such person shall be sold to raise money to pay the
judgment. The sale was nominally for a term of years, but
practically for life.
4. Suspected fugitives were sold as slaves. This Roman
device for procuring slaves is now in operation in the District
of Columbia, under the immediate sanction of Congress, and in
almost every slave State. The process is simple : A man who
it is deemed ought to be a slave, is arrested on suspicion of being
a runaway, and thrown into prison ; notice is then given in a
newspaper to his supposed master, to come and claim him. If
claimed, well ; if not, the prisoner is sold as a slave for life, to
raise money to pay the expense of his imprisonment.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 421
Having obtained some insight into Roman slavery, as it existed
in the time of Christ and his apostles, and with their acquies
cence, let us next look at " slavery as it exists at the present
day," and which the Bishop of Texas, with the concun-ence of
the Bishops of North and South Carolina, assures us, " is
AGREEABLE TO THE ORDER OF DlVINE PROVIDENCE."
Whatjs American slavery ? Its advocates are fond of hiding
its vileness~under false definitions. It is not servitude — it is
not compulsory labor — it is not arbitrary authority — it is not
cruelty — it is not injustice — it is not oppression. These are,
indeed, the usual accidents of slavery ; but they do not consti
tute/it, and are daily, one and all, found in total separation from
it. LSlavery is the conversion of a rational, accountable, immor
tal being, made in the image of God and a little lower than the
angels, and for whom Christ died, into a chattel, an article of
property, a vendible commodity.* It is not the violation of cer
tain rights, but the annihilation of ALL.f jit is the degradation
of a man to the leyelj)£. a b»te. j. Slavery involves the denial
of all domestic relations, and consequently the refusal to afford
them legal protection. § The infant slave may be sold or given
away long before he sees the light, so that, at the instant of his
birth, he belongs to one master and his mother to another. || A
* " Slaves shall be deemed sold, taken, reputed and adjudged in law to be
chattels personal in the hands of their owners, and possessors, and their exec
utors and administrators, to all intents, constructions and purposes what
ever." Law of South Carolina.
j-" A slave is one who is in the power of his master to whom he belongs.
The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry and his labor.
He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but what belongs
to his master." Civil Code of Louisiana.
J " In case the personal property of a ward shall consist of specific articles,
such as slaves, working beasts, animals of any kind, the court, if it deem it
advantageous for the ward, may at any time pass an order for the sale there
of." Law of Maryland.
§ "With the consent of their masters, slaves may marry, and their moral
power to agree to such a contract or connection as that of marriage, cannot
be doubted ; but whilst in a state of slavery it cannot produce any civil effect,
because slaves are deprived of all civil rights." Judge Matthews, of Louisi
ana ; Martin's Rep. VI, 550.
" A slave^ is never prosecuted for bigamy, or petty treason for killing a
husband being a slave, any more than admitted to an appeal for murder."
D. Dulamy, Attorney General of Maryland. 1 Md. Rep., 561.
|| " The testator left his negro wench, Pen, to one daughter, and her future
increase to another. The court decided the bequest to be good, and that all
36*

422 jay's works.
slave can possess no property ; * nor is any promise to him, or
agreement with him, binding in law.f Being under the control
of his master, he can have no legal right to attend the worship
of his Maker. J . Like other chattels, he can obtain no legal
redress for any injury, however grievous. § The master may
indeed recover compensation from any one who damages or kills
either his horse or his slave ; || but the law refuses to notice
the children born of Pen, after the death of the testator, belonged to the
sister of her mistress. Per Cur. He who is the absolute owner of a thing,
owns all its faculties for profits or increase, as well as the thing itself. This
is every day's practice ; and it is held that a man may grant the wool of a
flock of sheep for years." Little's Hep., Ill, 275. Kentucky, 1823.
* A master made a devise to trustees, for the benefit of his slave Betsey
and her children. Devise held to be void. Per Cur. ' ' The condition of
slaves in this country is analogous to that of the ancient Greeks and Ro
mans, and not that of the feudal times. They are generally considered not
as persons, but as things. They can be sold or transferred as goods or per
sonal estate ; they are held to be pro nullis, pro mortuis. By the civil law,
slaves could not take property by descent or purchase ; and I apprehend this
to be the law of this country." Dess. Re}>. IV, 266. South Carolina.
f Application to enforce a contract between master and slave. "Per Cur.
In the case of Sawney vs. Carter, the court refused, on great consideration,
to enforce a promise by a master to emancipate his slave, where the conditions
of the promise had been partly complied with by the slave. The court pro
ceeded on the principle, that it is not competent to a Court of Chancery to
enforce a contract between master and slave, even although the contract
should be fully complied with on the part of the slave." Leigh's Rep., 1, 72.
Vig., 1829.
J " 150 free negroes and slaves, belonging to the African Church, were taken
up on Sunday afternoon by the oity guard, and lodged in the guard-house.
The City Council yesterday morning sentenced five of them, consisting of a
Bishop and four ministers, to one month's imprisonment, or to give security
to leave the State. Eight other ministers were also sentenced separately to
receive ten lashes, or pay a fine each of five dollars." Charleston Patriot,
1818. Those whose punishment is here recorded were free negroes ; and from
their fate, we may judge of the religious privileges of the slaves.
§ " It would be an idle form and ceremony to make a slave a party to a suit,
by the instrumentality of which he could recover nothing ; or if a recovery
could be had, the instant it was recovered, it would belong to the master. The
slave can possess nothing, he can hold nothing. He is, therefore, not a com
petent party to a suit." Wheeler's Treatise on the Law of Slavery, p. 197.
|| " Trespass for killing plaintiff's slave. It appeared the slave was stealing
potatoes from a bank near defendant's house. The defendant fired upon him
with a gun loaded with buck-shot, and killed him. The jury found a verdict
for plaintiff for one dollar. Motion for new trial. The court hold there
must be a new trial ; that the jury ought to have given the plaintiff the value
of the slave. That if the jury were of opinion the slave was of bad charac
ter, some deduction from the usual price ought to be made ; but the plaintiff
was certainly entitled to his actual damage for killing his slave. Where
property is in question, the value of the article, as nearly as can be ascertain
ed, furnishes a rule from which they are not at liberty to depart." M'Cord's
Rep., IV, 156. South Carolina, 1827.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 423
any insult or outrage offered to male or female slaves, which
does not lesson their price in the market.* The whole life of a
slave is appropriated by the master, and no portion of it belongs
to himself, to be occupied in promoting his own happiness, or
that of his offspring, f
* " There must be a loss of service, or at least a diminution of the faculty
of the slave for bodily labor, to warrant an action by the master." Harris
and Johnson's Rep., I, 4. Maryland.
f " The defendant was indicted for an assault and battery upon Lydia, the
slave of one Elizabeth Jones. On the trial, it appeared that the defendant
had hired the slave for a year ; that during the term, the slave had committed
some small offence, for which the defendant undertook to chastise her ; that
while iu the act of so doing, the slave ran off, whereupon the defendant called
upon her to stop, which being refused, he shot at and wounded her. The
defendant was found guilty, and appealed. Per Cur. Ruffin, J. The in
quiry here is, whether a cruel and unreasonable battery on a slave by the
hirer is indictable. ... In criminal proceedings, and indeed in refer
ence to all other persons but the general owner, the hirer and possessor of a
slave, in relation to both rights and duties, is, for the time being, the owner.
. . . . Upon the general question whether the owner is answerable crim-
inaliter for a battery upon his own slave, or other exercise of authority or
force not forbidden by statute, the court entertains but little doubt. That he
is so liable has never been decided, nor, as far as is known, been hitherto con
tended. The established habits and uniform practice of the country, in this
respect, are the best evidence of the portion of power deemed by the whole
community requisite to the preservation of the master's dominion. This
has, indeed, been assimilated at the bar to the other domestic relations, and
arguments drawn from the well-established principles which confer and
restrain the authority of the parent over the child, the tutor over the pupil,
the master over the apprentice, have been pressed on us. The court does
not recognize their application. There is no likeness between the cases.
They are in opposition to each other, and there is an impassable gulf between
them. The difference is that which exists between freedom and slavery ; and
a greater cannot be imagined. In the one, the end in view is the happiness
of the youth, born to equal rights with the governor on whom devolves the
duty of training the young to usefulness, in a station which he is hereafter
to assume among freemen. To such an end, and with such a subject, moral
and intellectual instruction seems the natural means, and for the most part,
it is found to suffice ; moderate force is only superadded to make the
others effectual. If that fail, it is better to leave the party to his own head
strong passions and the ultimate correction of the law, than to allowitto be
immoderately inflicted by a private person. With slavery it is far otherwise.
The end is the profit of the master, las security and the public peace. The
subject is one doomed in his own person and in his posterity, to live without
knowledge, and witliout capacity to make anything his own, and to toil that
others may reap the fruits.
" What moral considerations shall be addressed to such a being to convince
him, what it is impossible but that the most stupid must feel and know can
never be true, that he is thus to labor upon a principle of natural duty, or
for the sake of his own personal happiness ? Such services can only be ex
pected from one who has no will of his own, who surrenders his will in explicit
obedience to that of another. Such obedience is the consequence only of
uncontrolled authority over the body. There is nothing else which can operate
to produce the effect. The power of the master must be absolute, to render
the submission of the slave perfect. I most freely confess my sense of the
harshness of this proposition. I feel it as deeply as any man can. And as
a principle of moral right, every person in his retirement must repudiate it.

424 jay's WORKS.
Such is American slavery, not as abused by the cruel and the
lawless, but as established by legislative enactments and main
tained by judicial decisions. Such is the slavery which George
W. Freeman, as minister of the Most High God, declares to be
" agreeable to the order of Divine Providence."
Such is the slavery, to the defence of which in God's house
on his holy day, the Right Rev. Father in God, Levi S. Ives,
listened with "most unfeigned pleasure." Such is the slavery,
whose vindication the churchmen of South Carolina spread on
the wings of the wind^for " the advancement of Christianity."
And shall there not be a woe now, asTna3icTeTrri3mes, " unto
them that call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness ; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet
for bitter ? " The guilt of such clerical champions of slavery as
Bishops Ives and Freeman, is tremendously aggravated by their
personal knowledge of its unutterable abominations. The de
cision of Judge Ruffin, quoted in the notes, was delivered in
Bishop Ives's Diocese, and in which Freeman delivered his no
torious sermons. Only five days after the latter had declared
from the pulpit of Raleigh, that " slavery as it exists at the
present day is agreeable to the order of Divine Providence," the
following comment appeared hi the Newbern (N. C.) Spectator :
" $200 Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber about three years
ago, a certain negro man named Ben, commonly known by the name
of Ben Fox. He had but one eye. Also, one other negro by the name
of Rigdon, who ran away on the 8th of this month. 1 will give the
reward of one hundred dollars for each of the above negroes, to be de
livered to me, or confined in the jail of Lenoir or Jones County, or for
THE KILLING OF THEM, SO THAT I CAN SEE THEM.
W. D. Cobb."
And now does the reader imagine Mr. Cobb some horrible
wretch, who thus publicly offers money for the blood of the in-
But in the actual condition of things, it must be so. There is no remedy.
This discipline belongs to slavery." The State, vs. Mann, Dev. Rep. ¦ p.
263. North Carolina, 1829. v
And so it was decided, that a master or his locum tenens may, with legal
impunity, shoot a woman if she will not stand still to be flogged ! It is
pleasing to see that this judge, while upholding the essential discipline of
slavery, is too honest to wait for a new revelation from Heaven to pronounce
it wrong ; and they who profess to believe it right, insult the moral sense of
mankind, and lie to their own consciences.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 425
nocent, for even Judge Ruffin admits that no principle of natural
duty requires the slave to toil for his master ? Mr. Cobb may
be a very reputable churchwarden, vestryman, or communicant
of the Church in Newbern. He is a law-abiding citizen, and has
acted in strict accordance with " slavery as it exists at the pres
ent day," and of course ," agreeably with the order of Divine Prov
idence." Before he thus compassed the death of two of his
fellow-men, he obtained, and published in the same paper with
his advertisement, the following proclamation, viz. :
" We do hereby, by virtue of an Act of the Assembly of this State,
concerning servants and slaves, intimate and declare if the said slaves
(Ben and Kigdon) do not surrender themselves, and return home im
mediately after the publication of these presents, that any person may
kill and destroy said slaves, by such means as he or they may think
fit, without accusation or- impeachment of any crime for so doing, or
without incurring any penalty or forfeiture thereby.
" Given under our hands and seals, this 12th November, 1836.
B. Coleman, J. P.
Jas. Jones, J. P."
It may, indeed, be said that this proclamation of the two jus
tices of the peace is an idle mockery, first, because the slaves
are by law incapacitated from reading it, and secondly, because
it assigns no time for their return, and of course, that they might
legally he flayed alive an hour after the proclamation was issued.
But what is all this to Mr. Cobb ? He has strictly pursued the
course pointed out by law for murdering slaves in Bishop Ives's
Diocese. Again, the Wilmington (same diocese) Advertiser of July
13, 1838, has the following:
" Run away, my negro man Richard. A reward of $25 will be
paid for his apprehension, dead or alive. Satisfactory proof will only
be required of his being killed. Durant H. Rhodes."
Mr. Rhodes, it must be admitted, is more confiding 'in human
nature than Mr. Cobb. The latter would only pay his money,
after beholding with his own eyes the dead bodies of his slaves ;
whereas, Mr. Rhodes is contented with satisfactory proof that
his man Richard has been slaughtered.
We will give one more instance of the taste, feelings, and

426 jay's WORKS.
morality, springing from slavery in the Bishop's Diocese, ex-'
tracted from the North Carolina Standard1 of July 18, 1838,
published at Raleigh, the residence of the Bishop, and very
probably honored by his constant perusal.
" Twenty Dollars Reward. — Ran away from the subscriber, a
negro woman and two children. The woman is tall and black, and a
few days before she went off, J burnt her with a hot iron on the left side
of her face. I tried to make the letter M, and she kept a cloth over
head and face, and a fly bonnet on her head, so as to cover the burn.
Her children, &c. Micajah Ricks."
It is utterly impossible that the southern clergy, in pleading
for the continuance of slavery, should not be conscious that they
are pleading for the continued ignorance, wretchedness, and
heathenism of millions of their fellow-men.*
Of the necessary heathenism of slavery, httle need be said.
There may indeed be slaves who are Christians, but they are
extraordinary exceptions from the system. Can Christianity
take root and flourish where every religious privilege depends on
the will of an arbitrary and often Godless master ? — where the
colijugal and paternal relations are unacknowledged, and in prac
tice unrespected ? — where the avenues to knowledge are closed,
and ignorance enforced, and where the very ministers of Christ
are justly regarded by the slaves as in league with their oppres
sors ? It is, moreover, utterly impossible that competent religious
instruction can be afforded to the slaves, without at the same
time imparting ?to them sufficient intelligence to endanger the
whole system. Give to the- slaves the means of becoming Chris
tians, and you render them both useless and formidable to their
masters. 'What ! shall a slave be enabled to contemplate the
mysteries of redemption, and yet not understand the iniquity of
his own bondage ? Shall his heart glow with love for his Saviour,
and yet shall he be made to believe that that Saviour approves
the cruelty and injustice of which he is daily the victim ? Shall
* De Tocqueville describes the slave code as "legislation stained by unpar
alleled atrocities ; a despotism directed against the human mind. Legislation
which forbids the slaves to be taught to read or write ; and which aims to
sink them as nearly as possible to the level of the brutes." But De Tocque
ville is a French Philosophe. We are not aware that any minister of the
Chubch, in the slave States, has declared this legislation to be sinful.

KEFROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH.

427

he be taught, as Bishop Freeman advises, to say the ten com
mandments, and not perceive that nearly the whole decalogue is
violated in his own person ? The Bishop says he must also learn
his catechism. If he understands it, with what bitter scorn will
he repeat, that it is his duty "not to covet or desire other men's
goods, but to learn and labor truly to get his own living," recol
lecting that he is himself robbed, and with the consent and ap
probation of his spiritual teacher, of every product of his own
labor, and that the only possible means whereby he can get his
own living, is by escaping from the house of bondage ! *
One of the " duties of slave-holders " is to have slave children
baptizedTflt is to "be~hoped, for liie-^afee" oTdecency, that the
address to sponsors will on such occasions be omitted, as it would
be trifling with sacred things to tell the chattel parents or friends,
that they must call upon the child as he grows up to hear ser
mons, and take care that he be brought to the Bishop for con
firmation ; since if either the sponsors or the child attempt to
leave the plantation without their master's permission, they may
legally be shot, and will certainly be scourged. It is, moreover,
scarcely reverent to assure these sponsors, to whom the Word*of
God is a sealed book, and who have, and can have nothing of
their own, that is their duty to provide that the little article of
merchandise be taught " all which a Christian ought to know
and believe -to his soul's health."
Bishop Freeman is prudently silent on the subject of slave
marriages. Surely a minister of the Church must have a front
of bronze to use " the form of matrimony " in connecting two
slaves. To make persons who are vendible commodities, and
* For these or other reasons, Bishop Ives has himself constructed a cate
chism, whose admirable qualities he thus describes : " The plainness of its
directions enables any person to apply it. If our planters, therefore, under
a sense of their solemn responsibility to God for the Christian instruction of
their slaves, would adopt it, and see to its faithful inculcation, the next gen
eration of blacks in our State, at a very small expense, would sufficiently un
derstand the truth as it is in Jesus, without knowing a letter oe the al
phabet." Spirit of Missions, Nov. 1842.
There are in the Bishop's diocese, as appears by the'last census, 209,783
free white persons over twenty years of age. Of these, 56,609, or nearly one-
third, cannot read or write. Hence, the next generation of whites in North
Carolina may be equally indebted with the blacks, to this catechism, for their
knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. And yet there may be doubts of the
efficiency of this labor-saving machine, seeing it is to be applied by slave
holders, so many of whom do not themselves know a letter of the alphabet.

428 jay's works.
who can never spend an hour together without the permission of
one, and often of two masters, vow, in the presence of Almighty
God, to cleave to each other in riches and in poverty, in sickness
and in health, till parted by death, is but solemn mockery. The
priestly prohibition, " Those whom God has joined together, let
not man put asunder," is, moreover, not merely in utter contempt
of the laws of the land, but at war with the very existence of
slavery. If the husband and wife may not be separated at the
will of their owners, and according to the state of the market,
what becomes of property in man ?
As the House of Bishops, in their selection of Dr. Freeman,
gave their implied sanction to American slavery, it might be
well for them in their next pastoral letter to determine how far,
and under what circumstances, the Church allows a slave a
plurality of wives. This is the more necessary, as the " sects "
are beginning to legislate upon the subject, since the civil power
in this particular gives him unbounded liberty. A reverend
Professor of the Methodist Church has decided that it is perfectly
lawful for an owner to separate husband and wife, and that if
there be any sin in the case, it rests upon the shoulders of the
slaves, who ought not to have taken vows which their condition
disqualifies them from keeping. A Baptist association in Vir
ginia have granted permission to a slave member to take a sec
ond wife, his first having been sold into another part of the
country ; and another association in Georgia is reported to have
voted, that a separation of man and wife, by sale or hire, to such
a distance as precludes personal intercourse, is considered by
God as equivalent to death.*
One of the blessed objects for which God instituted marriage,
was the care and instruction of the young ; and hence the in
junction, " Parents, bring up your children in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord." But slave children, as we have seen,
may be sold or given away before their birth, and are the sub
jects of traffic at an early age. For this and other reasons, the
* Professor E. A. Andrews, in his letter on " Slavery and the Domestic
Slave-Trade, " relates that a slave, complaining to him that his wife's master
was about selling her, remarked, " This is my third wife ; both the others
were sold to the speculators."

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 429
religious education of slaves is, with rare exceptions, wholly out
of the question. On the whole, slavery and heathenism are, in
the general, indissolubly connected ; and Jesus Christ, in approv
ing of the one, consented that millions for whom he died should
become the victims of the other !
Of the rights of property, none are more obvious and indis
putable than that of buying and selling. Hence the advocates
of the African slave-trade in the British Parliament most con
sistently rested the justification of the commerce on the right
eousness of slavery itself. Not a clerical champion of " slavery
as it exists at present," questions the moral right
" To gauge and spas,
And buy the muscles and the bones of man."
And now we call upon our Bishops, either to disabuse the
public mind as to the alleged iniquity of the African slave-trade,
or else to show from Scripture, that while it is very wicked to
buy a savage in Africa and sell him in Cuba, it is a lawful act
to buy a fellow-countryman, and possibly a fellow-Christian in
North Carolina, and sell him in New Orleans.*
* Bishop Ives's diocese is one of the great breeding districts in which hu
man cattle are raised for the Southern market. As a specimen of the style
in which the correspondence of gentlemen engaged in this commerce is con
ducted, we give a letter from a North Carolina merchants his consignee, at
New Orleans : "Halifax, N. C, Nov. 16, 1839.
Dear Sir — I have shipped in the brig Addison — prices are below —

No. 1. Caroline Ennis, 
" 2. Silvy Holland,  ."625
" 3. Silvy Booth,  487.50
" 4. Maria Pollock,  475
" 5. Emeline Pollock,  475
" 6. DeliaAverit,  475
The two girls that cost #650 and #625, were bought before I shipped my
first. I have a great many negroes offered to me, but I will not pay the prices
they ask, for I know they will come down. I have no opposition in market.
I will wait until I hear from you before I buy, and then I can judge what I
must pay. Goodwin will send you the bill of lading for my negroes, as he
shipped them with his own. Write often, as the times are critical, and it
depends on the prices you get, to govern me in buying. Yours, &c.
Mr. Theophilus Freeman, ) G. W. Baknes."
New Orleans. 5
The above was a small but choice invoice of wives and mothers. Nine
days before, viz., Nov. 7, Mr. Barnes advised Mr. Freeman of having
37

430 jay's WORKS.
Again, as God approved of the bondage of white men, would
it not be a laudable enterprise to enlarge the assortments in our
slave-markets, by the importation of Russian serfs ? If the
reduction of millions of the human race to the condition of mere
chattels be consistent with the will of God, then, inasmuch as
the greater includes the less, who shall say that every minor
form of oppression is not equally agreeable to the common
Father of mankind ?
" Slavery," says Wilberforce, is " a system of the grossest
injustice, of the most heathenish irreligion and immorality, of
the most unprecedented degradation and unrelenting cruelty."
Yet of this system the Episcopal Church is a-mighty buttress,
and certain of her bishops its reckless and unblushing champi
ons. But could the united logic and eloquence of the whole
House of Bishops persuade the mother, as she bends with delight
over the infant cherub in the cradle, that the compassionate Re
deemer, who took little children into his arms and blessed
them, has given his consent that the child of her love, the object
of her hopes and prayers, should be torn from her embraces,
and sold in the market to the highest bidder, to put money in
shipped a lot of forty-three men and women. Mr. Freeman, informing one of
his correspondents of the state of the market, writes (Sunday, Sept. 21,
1839), " I bought a boy yesterday 16 years old, and likely, weighing 110 pounds,
at #700. I sold a likely girl, 12 years old, at #500. I bought a man yester
day, 20 years old, six feet high, at #820 ; one to-day, 24 years old, at #850,
black and sleek as a mole."
And are these brokers in human flesh, these butchers of human hearts,
bad men ? For aught that appears, they are as sound Churchmen, and as
heavenly-minded Christians, except in trading in negroes on Sunday, as
Bishops Ives and .Freeman themselves ; they are but reducing to practice
the doctrines taught by these Bight Reverend Fathers. If slavery be right,
we must indeed wait for a new revelation before we pronounce the slave-trade
wrong. No doubt the trade occasions painful separations, but the rights of
property are paramount to the feelings of nature. The Presbyterian Synod of
Kentucky, some time since, published an address, in which they thus noticed
the domestic slave-trade : " The members of a slave family may (by law) be
forcibly separated, 50 that they shall never more meet again till the final
judgment. And cupidity often induces the masters to practise what the law
allows. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives, are
torn asunder, and permitted to see each other no more. These acts are daily
occurring in the midst of us. There is not a neighborhood where these heart
rending scenes are not displayed. There is not a village or road that does
not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, where chains and mourn
ful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from all that their hearts
hold dear." And the Synod speak of the iniquity of the system ! But why
is it more iniquitous to fetter slaves than any other animals that we send to
market ? Why more cruel to separate a child than a calf from its mother ?

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 431
the pocket of another ? * Let the experiment be made, and if
that mother be a Christian, she will thank God that she knows
and loves her Saviour too well to believe such a blasphemy.
And by what process do our masters in Israel justify Ameri
can slavery? Do they show its accordance with the divine
attributes — with the spirit of the Gospel — with the cultivation
of holiness — with the glory of God — with individual happiness
and national prosperity? Oh, no — they appeal to Hebrew
servitude, and to a few insulated texts in the New Testament.
There is something appalling in the passionate eagerness with
which certain ministers of Christ rush forward to lay the blessed
Scriptures upon the altar of the southern Moloch. We wish to
do these men no injustice, and therefore frankly admit, that some
persons may honestly find themselves embarrassed in their
endeavors to reconcile certain texts with the obvious cruelty and
injustice of human bondage ; and we as frankly confess that we
shudder at the very idea of one who professes himself called by
the Holy Ghost as a preacher of righteousness, teaching his
people that American slavery, slavery as it exists in North
Carohna, is not " wrong."
The moral sense of every man, when not perverted by pecu
niary interest, education, or authority, is itself sufficient to con
vince him of the iniquity of slavery. The Christian student,
therefore, who commences the Scriptural examination of this
subject with an unclouded judgment, will come to his work with
a firm conviction, that every attribute of slavery is opposed to
the spirit of the Gospel. Hence, he would be restrained from
promptly pronouncing slavery unscriptural only by a painful
suspicion that certain passages in the Bible lent it their sanction.
He would, however, call to mind that there were some things in
Scripture confessedly " hard to be understood," and he would
cherish the hope that he did not rightly understand those which
apparently contradicted the character "of God and the general
precepts of his Word. He would, therefore, search the Scrip
tures, not to find a warrant for slavery, but to reconcile certain
• Benjamin Davis, a slave-trader in Hamburg, S. C, advertised in the
Charleston papers, for sale, " small boys without theie mothehs."

432 jay's works.
obscure texts with the love and holiness which beam from every
page. If the patriarchs did, indeed, as is said, hold slaves, he would
recollect that they also indulged in polygamy, and were, in sev
eral instances, guilty of falsehood.*
* It is not our purpose to enter at large into the Bible argument, but mere
ly to suggest some reasons why they who think American slavery " wrong,"
are not necessarily impugners of " Revelation." It might be inferred from
the confidence and evident delight with which the example of Abraham is
urged in vindication of our " domestic institution," that the father of the
faithful was also the father of all who traffic in human flesh. If he was,
indeed, a slave-holder, he was still very far from being the type of a Southern
planter. While childless, he designated one of his slaves as his future heir. ,
He was afterwards prevented, only by Divine appointment, from making the
son of the bondwoman heir with the son by promise, and was consoled by
the assurance that the former should become the father of princes, and the
founder of a great nation. He moreover entrusted to one of his slaves, the
selection of a wife for his favorite son. The three hundred and eighteen
servants "born in his house," the Bishop of Texas asserts were "slaves."
Still they were men whom he armed and led to battle. They, with then-
parents, brothers, sisters, wives and children, must have formed a "gang "
of about two thousand in number. Yet we find the master of this multitude
of slaves leaving his guests to catch a calf to provide dinner for them, while
the mistress of this goodly household occupied herself in kneading and
baking cakes for her company ! A pro-slavery theory can alone blind us to
the evidence afforded by these facts ; that Abraham was the chief of a clan
or tribe, and that the expression, " born in his own house," only indicates
that the three hundred and eighteen were not strangers whom he employed
on the occasion, but members of the community acknowledging him as its
head. That there was a species of servitude in the East at an early period, as at
present, is true ; it is also true that it was of a very different character from
that which prevailed in the West. Our slavery belongs to the Western sys
tem. In a late work on Egypt, by Clot Bey, the distinction between the two
systems is thus noticed : " There is a prodigious difference between American
slavery, and servitude among the Orientals. With them, the institution is
neither cruel or disgraceful. It does not regard the slave as a thing, a mate
rial object, as did the Roman law. It does not make him a mere article of
import or export, a matter of speculation, a simple machine, in fact, whose
efficiency is estimated as horse power. The West Indian regards in the negro
only his corporeal value, and forgets in him the intellectual man ; he robs
him of his nature. The Mussulman, on the contrary, always beholds a man
in his slave, and treats him in such a manner, that we may say of Oriental
slavery, that it is often a real adoption, and always an admission into an ex
tended family circle.
" Oriental servitude honorably contrasts with our slavery, and above all by
its respect for the dignity of human nature. The slave, in Turkey, is not
humiliated by his condition : he often proudly boasts that he is of the family
of such a Bey , or such a Pasha, and gives his master the title of father. He
- knows, moreover, that he is not bound for ever to his station by a chain of
iron. He has before him examples sufficient to raise his ambition, and to
swell his soul with the hope of more brilliant destinies." The author then
gives various instances of slaves who had risen to high dignities ; and men
tions two sons-in-law of the present Sultan, who had both been slaves, and
adds, " In Egypt, the superior officers are, for the most part, manumitted
slaves." See Apercu general sur L'Egypte, par A. B. Clot Bey, 1840. Tom.
i, p. 269.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 433
If the Jews were, indeed, allowed to buy slaves of the heathens
around them, we must recollect that they were also allowed, nay,
even commanded to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan, men,
women and children ; and slavery was but a commutation of
the punishment of death to which God had sentenced them for
their sins. Such examples are not precedents for us under the
Gospel dispensation without a special warrant. But is it cer
tain that the " bondmen " (so called by our translators, but not
distinguished in the original from servants*) were slaves ? If so,
they were the property of their masters. Now, how was their
property acquired ? The heathen around, even their very
infants, might be slaughtered, but " He that stealeth a man and
selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put
to death." Hence the Jewish slaves were to be purchased, but
of whom? If the slave-trade constituted part of the Jewish
commerce, strange it is that we hear nothing of the slave market
in Israel. We know that the Jews sold themselves. " If a so
journer or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that
dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or
sojourner by thee," &c. Hence it is possible that as poor Jews
sold themselves to rich strangers, poor strangers might sell
themselves to rich Jews. There is no evidence that the heathen
in Palestine had slaves to sell, but many among them might find
it convenient to enter into Jewish families as domestics. The
servitude of both Jewish and heathen servants seems to have
been limited to the year of Jubilee. That this servitude was
not founded on the idea oi property appears from the prohibitions
" Thou shalt not deliver unto his master, the servant which is
escaped from his master to thee" (Deut. xxiii, 15). This law,
whether the fugitive was a Jew or a heathen, is utterly irrecon
cilable with common honesty, supposing the servant to have
* " The word in the original, sometimes rendered bondman, and sometimes
servant, , is Obed. It is applied to Christ, " Behold my servant whom 1 up
hold, Isaiah xxiv, 1. It is applied to King Rehoboam, 1 Kings, xii, 7.
Ziba, Saul s Obed, had himself twenty Obeds, 2 Samuel, ix, 10. There is no
word in Hebrew for slave, as distinct from servant. We find, I Chron. ii, 34,
that bheshan, the head of one of the families of the tribe of Judah, gave his
f+US? j- ' t0 ms sermnt> an Egyptian ; and so far was any disgrace
attacnea in consequence to their children, that the son of this very daughter
was enrolled among " the valiant men " of David's army, 1 Chron. ii, 41.
37*

434 jay's WORKS.
been a mere chattel ; and certainly belonged to a very different
code of morals from that which enjoins, " If thou meet thy
enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it
back to him again."
On turning to the New Testament, our inquirer would recollect,
that it was written at a time, when, among the Romans, slavery
and the exhibitions of the amphitheatre were systems of extraor
dinary cruelty and of human butchery, and that, although both
are alluded to, neither is expressly condemned. True it is, that
St. Paul induced a servant to return to his master. If the ser
vant was a freeman, the case proves nothing. If he was a slave,
the apostle required his instant manumission, by commanding
the master to receive him, "Not now as a servant, but above a
servant, a brother beloved ; receive him as myself." *
There are instances in which persons, who perhaps held
slaves, are spoken of with commendation, but not on that account.
None of the churches or individuals commended in the apostolic
epistles were faultless, and it would be most monstrous to infer
from a general commendation, an apostolic sanction of every
error or sin of which they might be guilty.
Were it possible to imagine a kind of slavery divested of all
sinful attributes, and consistent alike with the glory of God and
the good of man, Bishops Freeman and Ives well know that
such is not the character of American slavery. If " slavery as
it exists at present," in the Dioceses of these two Bishops, is
indeed acceptable to Him who proclaims himself, " The Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abun
dant in goodness and truth," then, indeed, is the Bible a riddle,
and its morality a paradox. Be it so ; a title to negro slaves
must at all hazards be found in the Bible. The very character
ofHhe Southern priesthood for honesty depends on its production.!
What is wanting in proof, must be supplied by bold assertion,
* St. Paul wrote by Onesimus to the Church at Colosse, and in his Epistle
speaks of him as " a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you," Col.
iv, 9.
t The clergy of the South, of all denominations, are generally slave-holders.
A member of the House of Bishops is said, in a late western newspaper, to
own one hundred and seventy slaves.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 435
and all Christendom beyond the slave-region shall be accused of
presumption, for not waiting for a new revelation, before they
dare to pronounce such slavery as exists in North Carolina
wrong I
And shall we be any longer insulted with the assertion, that
the preached Gospel is the divinely appointed means of abolish
ing slavery ? Most certain it is, that the spirit of the Gospel,
carried into universal practice, would relieve the human family
from every moral evil with which it is afflicted ; but it is utterly
false that the ministrations of our own, or any other Church, will
correct a single vice, independent of the character of its ministers,
the examples they set, and the doctrines they preach. Would
the teachings of a thousand Dr. Freemans loosen the fetters of
a single slave ? ' No less than forty missionaries are supported
by our Board of Missions in the slave regions. Dare we hope
they have induced one master to let his bondmen go free?
While the southern clergy vindicate slavery as a Christian insti
tution, they are in danger of producing a result which they as
little expect as desire. " Should the priesthood," says a south
ern writer, once himself a slave-holder, " should the priesthood
succeed in convincing the world that slavery is the doctrine of
the New Testament, then will infidelity become the true
religion of mankind — and not till then." Says another south
ern writer, and apparently a pious Christian, " I distinctly avow,
than when I can be brought to believe that American slavery,
taken as a system, is sustained by the teachings of Holy Writ, I
must cease to be a believer in the Bible.''
But, blessed be God ! his priesthood has, in all ages of the
Church, afforded the most glorious illustrations of fearless devo
tion to duty, and of self-denying benevolence, that the world^ias
ever witnessed. While some have claimed to hold their slaves
as monarchs their crowns, " by the grace of God," many have
witnessed a good confession against human bondage. In the
Church of England at the present day, there is not probably a
bishop, priest, or deacon, who would endorse the theology of our
Texan bishop. But then we are told by the slave-holders, and
their tools, the northern demagogues, that England is anti-slavery

438 jay's WORKS.
through envy of our prosperity ! ' Let us, then, hear the English
bishops, when such a motive could have no existence.
Bishop Warburton, in a sermon preached in 1776 against
slavery and the slave-trade, exclaims,
" Gracious God! to talk, as in herds of cattle, of property in rational
creatures — ¦ creatures endowed with all our faculties, possessing all our
qualities but that of color — our brethren both by nature and grace,
shocks all the feelings of humanity and the dictates of common sense.
Nature created man free, and grace invites him to assert his freedom."
Bishop Burgess, in a pamphlet against the slave-trade,
1789, says :
" Such oppression (West India slavery) and such traffic must be
swept away at one blow. Such horrid offences against God and nature
can admit of no medium. If no British subject is" exempt from the
duty of doing everything in his place towards preventing the continu
ance of so great a political as well as moral evil, more especially are not
those subjects, whose business it is to teach what is every man's concern
to know, the interpreters of God's Word, which is so frequently violated
by West India slavery and its consequences."
Bishop Porteus declared in the House of Lords, 1806, in
answering certain Scriptural arguments in behalf of slavery,
" There was no such thing as perpetual slavery under the Old ¦
or New Testament ; " and he showed that all Hebrew servants
were set at liberty every seventh year, and all others at the
Jubilee. The Bishop of St. Asaph, the same year, asserted in the
House of Lords, that
" The principle of perpetual slaveiy is totally inconsistent with the
Jewish law. When we come down to Christianity, we find dealers in
slaves are held among the worst of the human race. St. Paul, in his
Epistle to Timothy, tells us what the dealers in slaves are, and who are
their companions. The slave-dealers are called ' stealers of men,' and
their companions are liars, perjurers, murderers, and parricides."
Bishop Horsely, in 1799, with Christian boldness, rebuked
the nobles of Britain for their wicked toleration of the slave-
trade ; and vindicated the Gospel of Christ from the aspersions
of those who represented it as a shield for cruelty and injustice.
After showing that the "men-stealers" classed in the Bible

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 437
with murderers of fathers and of mothers, were in fact, according
to the true meaning of the Greek word, " slave-traders," he pro
ceeded :
" We have reason to conclude, from the mention of ' slave-traders,'
by St. Paul, that if any of them should ever find their way to heaven,
they must go thither in company with murderers and parricides. My
lords, I do certainly admit that there is no prohibition of slavery in the
Bible, in explicit terms, such as these words, ' thou shalt not have a slave,'
or ' thou shalt not hold any one in slavery.' There is no explicit
reprobation of slavery by name. My lords, if I were to say there was
no occasion for any such prohibition, because slavery is condemned by
something anterior to either the Christian or the Mosaic dispensation, I
could support the assertion by grave authorities. Beware, my lords,
how you are persuaded to bring under the opprobrious name oi fanat
icism the regard you owe to the great duties of justice and mercy, for
the neglect of which, if you should neglect them, you will be answera
ble to that tribunal, where no prevarication of witnesses can misinform
the Judge, where no subtility of an advocate, miscalling the names of
things, and putting evil for good, and good for evil, can mislead the
judgment." " ^£2X'" sa*c^ -k°ED Mansfield, " is so odious that noth-
ingjbut positive law can sustain it." His lordship little suspected
that a time was approaching when the Church would afford it
more efficient support than even positive law, and would herself
look to it for support in return. One of our church periodicals
has announced that " the Bishop of Georgia, in his Montpelier
Institution, is testing the sufficiency of slave-labor to support it.
It is not unusual to see in the southern papers, notices of slaves
to be sold on account of ecclesiastical corporations. Bishop
Wilberforce, in. his History, refers to a proposal by the editor of
the " Spirit of Missions " to establish a mission school to be
supported by slaves, who shall be induced, by the promise of
prospective emancipation, to perform so much extra labor in
the course of sixteen years as to yield a profit of one hundred
"per cent, on the capital invested, over and above the ordinary
profits extorted by common taskmasters. This revolting scheme,
in which it was intended that the slaves would work two hours
before sunrise, and two hours after sunset, in all sixteen hours
out of the four and twenty, and this for sixteen successive years,
was pressed upon the Church in an official magazine, published

438 jay's WORKS.
in New York under the supervision of the Missionary Commit-
( tee, and by an editor holding his appointment from the Board of
Missions, including the bishops, and other representatives of
the Church elected by the General Convention. In about three
months after this publication, the Board assembled, and written
remonstrances were presented to them, beseeching them, for the
honor of the Church, and the cause of religion and humanity, to
disavow the conduct of their editor. These remonstrances ex
cited warm debates, not unmingled with southern arrogance.
It was impossible for the Board to express disapprobation of
the plan without indirectly censuring Bishops Ives and Elliott.
If slaves be indeed property, what objection can there be to
converting their bones and muscles into money for the Church ?
To condemn the editor, would offend the pro-slavery Bishops
and clergy ; expressly to approve his conduct, would raise a
tempest at the North. So, policy was substituted for godly sin
cerity, and cunning for wisdom. The Board expunged from
their minutes the proceedings had on the memorials, and avoid
ing all intelligible allusion to the scheme which had led to them,
ordered the following words to be printed on the future numbers
of their own magazine :
" It is to be understood by the readers of this periodical, that the
Board of Missions are not responsible for the expression of editorial
opinions, but simply for the accuracy of facts connected with their
operations." But lest even this extraordinary disclaimer should be supposed
to involve a concealed censure on the late " editorial opinions,"
the resolution recommending it, and which was introduced by &
Bishop from a slave State, as chairman of a committee, was pre
ceded by another, declaring, " That, in the opinion of this Board,
the Spirit of Missions has been conducted, during the year past,
with commendable diligence and ability ; " and the report of the
committee accompanying these resolutions is careful to state that
the periodical in question is " gaining reputation and influence,
and that if it continues to be conducted with the same ability
which it has of late exhibited, it will become a powerful auxiliary
to the cause."

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 439
The subject of slavery had been brought directly and promi
nently before the Church, by her own appropriate officers. Mon
ey, entrusted to the Board for missionary purposes, had been
employed through the official magazine, to advocate the cause
of human bondage, to condemn emancipation as "ruinous, and
forbidden by common sense and Christian prudence," and to put
in motion a machinery by which money was to be extorted for
the coffers of the Church, from the cruel and extraordinary toil
of miserable slaves. The memorialists had virtually asked the
reverend and right reverend fathers of the Church, in council
assembled, Do, or do you not, approve of this conduct of your
agent ? To this interrogatory, the reverend gentlemen thought
it expedient to answer neither yes nor no ; but in the notice they
ordered to be in future printed on their magazine, they did return
a most disingenuous and unworthy reply. No human being
ever supposed that the members of the Board, scattered through
out the Union, were responsible for the publication or " expression"
in New York, of opinions of which they could have no previous
knowledge, and of course no power to prevent. Did the Board
intend to enunciate so bold a truism as this ? As well might
they have given notice that they were not responsible for any
heresy or immorality of which their officers might hereafter be
guilty. When examined with a critical microscope, the disclaim
er has reference to the " expression " — the printing of opinions
in New York. But in the plain, obvious, popular import of the
notice, the disclaimer has reference to the opinions, after they
are expressed and printed. In this sense alone, had the dis
claimer any reference to the subject which induced it. Nay, the
Board intended it to be so understood ; for they thought proper
to order a resolution to be sent to the memorialists, who had
" complained of the tendency of an editorial article in the March
number of the Spirit of Missions" (carefully avoiding mention
ing in the minutes, the subject of the article), declaring that the
Board had never " held itself responsible for the opinions ex
pressed by the editors of the Spirit of Missions," and had direct
ed " this assertion of irresponsibility to be distinctly placed upon
the cover of the future numbers of this periodical."

440 jay's WORKS.
On this assertion of " irresponsibility " we take issue, and af
firm that the Board is responsible to the community, to the
Church, and to God, for the opinions of an editor appointed by
themselves, under their control, paid out of funds entrusted to
their care, published in an official magazine, and printed at the ex
pense of missionary contributions. What ! will the Board tell
us that their editor may make their magazine a vehicle for the
dissemination of obscenity and infidelity, and that it is no concern
of theirs ? That he may disparage the Church, insult her bish
ops, and deny her doctrines, and that they are not responsible ?
But should he misdate a letter, or omit half a dollar in the
acknowledgment of a donation, then, then indeed, they will not
shrink from responsibility.
Surely the bishops who concurred in this " assertion of irre
sponsibility," forgot for the moment their consecration vow, " to
be ready with all faithful vigilance to drive away from the
Church all strange and erroneous doctrines contrary to God's
word." This disclaimer, like most cunning measures, was a sacrifice
of duty to present expediency ; a sacrifice which, however com
mon with politicians, we had no right to expect from such a body
of men. The truth is, the Board were worried by the memorials.
To take no notice of them would probably increase " agitation"
— 4o approve the course of the editor, would disgust many at the
North — to condemn it, would offend all at the South. Instead
of manfully breaking down this triple hedge, within which they
found themselves enclosed, they determined to crawl through it,
and for this purpose, disincumbered themselves of a responsibil
ity which God and the Church had commanded them to be ar.
Let us now turn to another, but a kindred subject. Whatever
may be the struggles of the slave-holder to wring from the Bible
a title to his slaves, no reader of the volume of inspiration,
whether Christian or infidel, has professed to discover in it a
warrant for the establishment of caste in the Church of God.
However much we may be inclined to appeal to the Scriptures
for a license to despise, insult, and oppress our fellow-Christians,
on account of their race or natural features, we are effectually

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 441
deterred by the declarations that one God hath created us — that
we have all one Father — that in Christ Jesus there is neither
Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor barbarian, bond nor free ; and by
the commands to do good unto all men, and to honor all men.
Hence the institution of caste in the Church, and the obloquy,
injustice, and cruelty connected with it, are not rested, like
slavery, on the alleged consent of Christ and his apostles ; but
simply and frankly on pecuniary interest, personal antipathy, and
popular prejudice.
So accustomed have we been from childhood to the distinction
of caste, arising from color — so universally is this distinction
maintained not merely in the Church, but in all the departments
of society, that we have, for the most part, become callous to its
iniquity ; and our understandings can with difficulty be brought
to believe that the merciful precepts of Christ's Gospel were
intended to govern our intercourse with men of dark, as well as
of white complexions. But although we may be insensible to
the cruelty of caste, it is otherwise with its victims.
The Rev. T. S. Wright, a liberally educated colored clergy
man, thus briefly enumerates some of the consequences of that
system, which our Church has been so active and zealous in
maintaining. "No man can really understand this prejudice unless he feels it crush
ing him to dust, because it is matter of feeling. It has bolts, screws,
and bars, wherever the colored man goes. It has bolts in all the schools
and colleges. The colored parent, with the same soul as the white
parent, sends his child to the seats of learning, and he finds the door
bolted, and sits down to weep beside his boy. Prejudice stands at the
door and bars him out. Does the child of the colored man show a tal
ent for mechanics ? The heart of the parent beats with hope. He
sees the children of the white man engaged in employment, and he
trusts there is a door open for his boy to get an honest living, and be
come a useful member of society. But when he comes to the workshop
with his child, he finds a bolt there. But even suppose he can get this
first bolt removed, he finds other bars. Let him be ever so skilled as
a mechanic, up starts prejudice and says, ' I wont work in the shop, if
you do.' Here he is scourged by prejudice, and has to go back and
sink down to some of the employments which white men leave for the
most degraded. He hears of the death of a child from home, and he
goes in a stage or steamboat. His money is received, but he is scourged
by prejudice. If he is sick, he can have no bed ; he is driven on deck.
Money will not buy for him the comforts it gets for all who have not
38

442 jay's WORKS.
his complexion. He turns to some white friend, and he says, ' Submit,
it is an ordinance of God, you must be humble.' I have felt this. As
a minister, I have been called to pass often up and down the North
Kiver in steamboats. Many a night have I walked the deck, and not
been able to lie. down in a bed.* Prejudice would, indeed, turn money
to dross, where it was offered for these comforts by a colored man.
Thus prejudice scourges us from the table, it scourges us from the cabin,
from the stage-coach, and from the bed. Wherever we go, it has for
us bolts, bars, and rods. Even at the communion table, the colored
man can only partake of the crumbs after the others have been served.
This prejudice drives the colored man from religion. I have often
heard my brethren say, they would have nothing to do with such a re
ligion. They are driven away, and go- to infidelity ; for even the infi
dels at Tammany Hall make no distinction on account of color."
That this prejudice may drive some of the sufferers into in
fidelity is probable ; since it has been a common mistake in all
ages, to judge of Christianity, not by its own inspired records,
but by the conduct of a portion of its fallible ministers. And
he who is led to believe that American slavery, and its detestable
offspring, American caste, is approved of by Jesus Christ, may
well be excused for questioning the divinity of his mission.
Although caste had long existed among us in practice, the ex
clusion of Mr. Crummell from the General Theological Semi
nary was the first instance of its recognition, as a part of the
ecclesiastical polity of the American Church^ Mr. Degrass,
the young man whose affecting journal is given by Bishop Wil
berforce, was kept out of the Seminary by the personal influence
and authority of Bishop Benjamin Onderdonk. But in Mr.
Crummell, the bishop found a more impracticable subject, and a
petition for admission was presented to the assembled Trustees.
The statutes of the institution rendered it imperative on the
Trustees to admit all applicants possessing certain qualifications,
and these qualifications the bishop honestly informed the Board,
were possessed by the present applicant. The Board, under
these circumstances, found themselves in a dilemma. To rejeet
the young man on account of his complexion would not only be
illegal, but would excite remark, invite ridicule, and encourage
* The writer has been informed, that the wife of Mr. Wright lost her life
in consequence of exposure on the deck of a steamboat, being denied a berth
in the cabin, on account of her complexion.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 443
* agitation ; " and on the other hand, to admit him, would irritate
a prejudice which Bishop Onderdonk had admitted to Degrass
was " unrighteous ; " and might also hazard the loss of south
ern contributions to the Seminary. A committee, with Bishop
Henry Onderdonk, of Pennsylvania, as chairman, was appointed
to consider the application ; and their report was more dis
tinguished for brevity than for wisdom. Without assigning a
single reason, and without an allusion to the complexion of the
applicant, they merely recommended " that the prayer of the
petitioner be not granted." The report was adopted, whereupon,
Bishop Doane, of New Jersey, asked permission, which was re
fused, to enter his objections on the minutes. Hence the minutes
merely record the fact, that a Mr. Crummell had applied for ad
mission into the Seminary and was denied. They afforded no
intimation that the Trustees had violated the statutes, no hint
that the rejected candidate was not colored hke themselves.
Should any one wonder why the application was rejected, the
natural presumption would be, that the young man was deficient
in his literary attainments or moral character, and that the com
mittee who reported against him had benevolently refrained from
putting his delinquencies upon record. But Mr. Crummell was
a poor, obscure colored man ; there was no probability that his
case would excite inquiry, or ever be known. Certainly the
management of the Trustees was exceedingly adroit. Alas for
the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent.
In a short time the proceedings of the Board were exposed and
condemned in the newspapers, not only of New York, but of
London, and now form a conspicuous and indelible portion of
the " History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America."
The Bishop of New York thought it expedient to vindicate him
self in a newspaper publication, in which he condescends to pro
pitiate the "unrighteous prejudice" by a gratuitous sneer at
amalgamation. (!)
Mr. Crummell sought and obtained ordination in another dio
cese, and then resolved to embrace an opportunity that offered,
'of organizing a colored church in Philadelphia. He accordingly
repaired to that city, with the usual letter dismissory from his

444 jay's WORKS.
late diocese, and in compliance with the canort, presented it to
the bishop. We can readily believe that this last gentleman was
not gratified at finding that the young man, who on his recom
mendation had been excluded from the Seminary, now claimed
a canonical residence in his own diocese, as a brother minister
of the Church. The canons allowed the bishop no discretion.
Mr. Crummell's letter was unexceptionable, and by the laws of
the Church, he became entitled, on its delivery, to all the rights
and privileges of a clergyman of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.
But the bishop was as independent of legal restraints in Phila
delphia, as he had been in New York. He informed Mr. Crum
mell that he would receive his letter, only on the condition that
he would pledge himself, in his own behalf, and in behalf of his
Church, should he succeed in raising one, never to apply for a
seat in Convention ; and immediately proposed to write the
pledge. He was told it was unnecessary, as the pledge could
not be given. He then positively declared he would not receive
him, on which the young minister intimated his intention to
return to the diocese he had just left. Here again was an em
barrassing dilemma. To disregard a dismissory letter from
another diocese, and to send back the bearer, without the slight
est objection being made to his character or conduct, might lead
to very inconvenient results, and would unquestionably cause
much " agitation ; " and, on the other hand, to admit a negro to a
canonical residence, was to open the door of the Convention to him,
the consequence of which would be, that a minister of Christ,
with a dark complexion, might sit in the Council of the Church !
The bishop, to escape from this dilemma, proposed that he should
inform the Convention in his address at its next meeting, that
he had been admitted with the understanding that he was to
have no seat in it. Mr. Crummell, with the same high moral
eourage which had hitherto marked his course, replied that he
could have no agency in the matter. Thwarted in his attempts
to make Mr. Crummell surrender his rights as a clergyman, the
bishop determined that others should wrest them from him ; and
consented to receive the dismissory letter, telling him that he
would get the Convention to take some order on the subject,

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH.

445

About three weeks after this strange conference, the Conven
tion of the Diocese assembled, and the bishop's address contained
the following passage:
" In the Convention of 1 795, it was declared that the African Church
of St. Thomas, in this city, was 'not entitled to send a clergyman or
deputies to the Convention, or to interfere with the general government
of the Church.' This law is still retained in our 8th Revised Regula
tions. The peculiar circumstances which required this restriction may
occur, and probably will, in other cases; and I submit for your consid
eration whether it will not be proper to enact a similar restriction ap
plicable to all clergymen and congregations in this diocese under like
circumstances." It does really seem as if a consciousness of shame and guilt
drives our ecclesiastical rulers, when perpetrating oppression
and injustice upon colored Christians, to hide their meaning in
unintelligible and deceptive phraseology.
We here learn that in 1795, the Convention made a certain
declaration, which to all appearance was judicial and not legis
lative, that a particular Church was not entitled to a representation
in the Convention. The reasons for such a judgment are not
given — they may have been good or bad, but the judgment
itself was within the jurisdiction of the Convention, since every
legislative body must judge of the qualifications of its members,
although it cannot prescribe them. It does not appear that the
Convention invaded any right, or did more than refuse to ac
knowledge an unlawful claim.
And yet from the fact that the Church thus excluded was an
African one, and from the omission of the reasons on which the
judgment was founded, we have no question that the pretended
declaration was a high-handed unconstitutional enactment, dis
franchising a rector and his congregation, solely on account of
the tincture of their skins ; and that the Convention were
ashamed to place upon their minutes the unchristian motives by
which they were tempted to trample under foot the constitutional
rights of a minister of Christ, and the people under his charge.
Bishop Onderdonk, we have seen, called on the Convention
to enact a similar restriction, " applicable to all clergymen and
congregations," which should hereafter be in "like circum-
38»

446 JAY'S WORKS.
stances." What circumstances ? A state of schism, insubordi
nation, or irregular or illegal incorporation ? Oh no ; he meant
having black skins, but was ashamed to say so.
It will be observed that the legislation recommended is to be
prospective, not ex post facto. No clergyman or congregation,
now in the diocese, is to be affected by it. No case now calls
for this restriction, but cases " may occur, and probably will," and
it is best to be prepared for contingencies. All this is painful.
The bishop, while uttering the words we have quoted, had in
his possession the letter dismissory of the very clergyman
against whom the proposed restriction was aimed ; and who, by
his advice, had been shut out of the Theological Seminary, and
from whom he had vainly endeavored to obtain a disgraceful
surrender of his rights as a minister of the Church. Again, in
his address, he tells the Convention, " Letters dismissory have
been received and accepted by me as follows," and then gives a
list of clergymen received from other dioceses ; but Mr. Crum
mell's name is not among them !
The powers of our Conventions, like those of our State Legis
latures, are limited by written constitutions. The Fourth Arti
cle of the Constitution of the Pennsylvania Diocese declares
that " every clergyman of the Church, of whatever order, being
a settled minister of some parish in this State, shall be entitled
to a seat and vote in the Convention," provided he ha3 had a
canonical residence of a certain time, &c. The Tenth Article
prescribes the mode of altering the Constitution, by. the joint
action of two successive Conventions, and thus takes away the
power of doing it by a simple resolution.
Ruffian mobs had on several occasions, within the past few
years, assailed the unoffending blacks in Philadelphia, sacked
their dwellings, and torn down their houses of worship, and all on
account of the complexion their Maker had given them. And
how was this wicked, cruel prejudice against color, rebuked by
the Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania ? Why, the Convention,
at the instigation of the bishop,
" Resolved, That the following clause be added to the 8th Revised
Regulation adopted in 1829, and hereafter to be taken as part thereof:

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 447
'No Church in this diocese, in like peculiar circumstances with the Af
rican Church of St. Thomas, shall be entitled to send a clergyman or
deputies to the Convention, or to interfere with the general government
of the Church.' '
Thus were colored clergymen and colored Christians driven,
in contempt and utter violation of canonical law, from the en
closure of the Church, as they had been, by abandoned wretches,
from the sanctuary of their own homes. The bishop, clergy,
and lay deputies of the Pennsylvania Church, make common
cause with the rioters in the streets, in a general crusade against
negroes and mulattoes ! This act of the Convention brands for
all future time every minister of Christ, and every member of
his mystical body, who may trace his descent from the land of
Cyprian and Tertulhan, as belonging to a distinct and degraded
caste, and debars them from all participation in the government
of the Redeemer's Church. This act forcibly thrusts a portion
of the Church into schism, and repudiates one of the fundimental
conditions on which the Diocese of Pennsylvania consented, in
1784, to acknowledge a general ecclesiastical government in the
United States, viz., " That to make canons and laws, there be
no other authority than that of a representative body of the
clergy and laity conjointly." The great truth, " HE hath made
us, and not we ourselves," is set at naught by the Pennsyl
vania Convention ; and in the indulgence of an " unrighteous
prejudice," or in a cowardly submission to it, they have sacri
ficed both the independence and the unity of the Church, the
dignity of the ministerial office, and that love which Christ made
the badge and test of discipleship. And this lawless and pro
fane excision of their brethren, these men attempted to veil
under the strange and indefinite phraseology of " all in like
peculiar circumstances with the African Church of St. Thomas ! "
If anything can possibly add to the shame of this transaction, it
is that the vote was taken without discussion ; not one single
member of that large body, clergyman or layman, having the
independence to rise in his place and protest against an act, at
variance alike with the principles of the Church, and the pre
cepts of its Divine Head. And what is the apology, the only
apology which the. Churchmen of Pennsylvania can offer for

'448 jay's works.
this wanton insult and oppression of their colored brethren ? an
apology that aggravates, instead of excusing their conduct.
Popular prejudice required that colored clergymen and delegates
should be excluded from the Convention ! It is disheartening
to the patriot, to see our public men, those to whom high and
important trusts are confided, so often governing themselves, not
by the immutable principles of justice and rectitude, but by the
ever varying opinions of the multitude. But oh ! it is sickening to
the soul, to witness the Church of Christ sacrificing to popular
clamor, her own holy and glorious attribute of being a light and
a guide to a benighted and a sinful world.
Bishop Onderdonk of New York, in his charge of 1843, to
the Convention, remarked :
" Taking the Gospel for our guide, we must see in the Church and
the world, essentially antagonistic bodies. The Church was formed not
to cooperate with the world, but to oppose it — to attack the wicked prin
ciples and practices to which it is in bondage, and to come to no terms
with it on any other principles than its entire surrender of its opposi
tion to the pure and holy spirit of the Gospel, and its entire submission
to the rule which Christ, through his Church, would establish over it
for good  Let us ever, by the grace of God, be careful that
in our intercourse with it, we adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour
in all things; and then go forward in our Master's work, indifferent
save for its own sake, whether the world be pleased or offended; and, in
deed, looking for the ill will and opposition from it, which that Master
and his divine Word have prepared us to expect."
Glorious truths ! Godly counsels ! worthy of an age of martyrs
and confessors. Alas, that they should have been in the lips of
him who uttered them, Vox et preterea nihil! Let the diary of
the young candidate for orders, given in the " History," tell how
this bold-spoken bishop crouched before a prejudice which his
own tongue confessed to be "unrighteous;" and sacrificed duty
and independence, lest the Seminary should lose the support of
"the South!"
Rank and caste are essentially different ; and while the former
is sanctioned by the Bible, which requires us to render honor to
those to whom honor is due, the latter is heathenish in its origin
and character. Rank is founded on condition, and is usually con
nected with personal distinctions and acquirements. It unavoid-

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 449
ably springs from the organization of society ; and while it may
confer privileges, is not necessarily inconsistent with the claims
of justice and humanity. Caste, on the contrary, regards races,
irrespective of the individuals composing them. In Hindostan, it,
both elevates and depresses — with us, its only effects are degra
dation, cruelty, and wretchedness. In the former country, the
two extremes of caste are the Brahmins and Soodras,* and the
gulf between them is wider and more impassable than that which
in our own separates the whites and the blacks. And yet the
American Church may learn an edifying lesson from the tempo
rary cessation of caste in the presence of a Hindoo idol.
"I was surprised," says Dr. Claudius Buchanan, in the journal of his
tour to the Temple of Juggernaut, in Orissa, in 1806, "to see the
Brahmins, with their heads uncovered, in the open plain, and falling
down in the midst of the Soodras, before the horrid shape, and mingling
so complacently with that ' polluted caste ;" but this proved what I had
before heard, that so great a god is this, that the dignity of high caste
disappears before him. This great king recognizes no distinction of
rank among his subjects. All men are equal in his presence."
We have long gloried in the conviction, not only that we are
a true Church, but that, besides ourselves, there is none other.
Too many among us are disposed to look down upon Christians
of other names, with much the same feeling with which the phar-
isee beheld the publican who came to the temple to pray. It
seems to be not unfrequently forgotten, that the glory of the
Church consists, not in her organization, nor in her rites and
ceremonies, but in her holiness, which, like the Shechinah of
the ancient temple, proclaims the presence of the Divine Lord.
The Church is, unquestionably, spiritually diseased, so far as
* " Soodras may be frequently seen carrying water in a cup, and entreating
the first Brahmin they meet, to put his toe into it; after which they drink
the water, and bow or prostrate themselves before the Brahmin, who bestows
his blessing upon them. Others preserve some of this holy water in their
houses. Not only is the body of a Soodra laid prostrate before the Brahmin,
to lick the dust of his feet, but his soul is also sacrificed to his honor. If a
Soodra dare to listen to the salvation-giving Vedu, he is to be punished for
his sacrilege. If a Brahmin happen to be repeating any part of the Vedu
aloud, a Soodra, if near, shuts his ears and runs away. If a Soodra enter the
cook-room of a Brahmin, the latter throws away all his earthen vessels as
defiled ; nay, the very touch of a Soodra makes a Brahmin unclean, and com
pels him to bathe in order to wash away the stain." Ward's View of the
Hindoos, pp. 79, 107,

450- jay's works.
she ceases to be, in the language of Bishop Onderdonk, " antag
onistic to the world, and to attack its wicked principles and prac
tices." Tried by this test, what is the comparative health and
vitality of the Pennsylvania Episcopal Convention, and the Penn
sylvania Presbyterian Synod ? The latter body, like the first, is
composed of clerical and lay deputies ; and although named from
the State in which most of its members reside, embraces various
churches in Maryland. On the 30th of September, 1839, the
Synod held its session at Elkton, in the latter State ; and of
course in the midst of slave-holders. Two colored members
took their seats, and assisted in organizing the body. Their
presence excited the indignation of some of the rabble in Elkton ;
and a letter was addressed to a member, recommending the re
tirement of the two delegates. The letter was shown to them,
and they immediately left the town. The Synod was uninformed
of what had occurred, until after their departure, whereupon the
following resolution was adopted :
" Whereas, this Synod have learned that two of their number, the
Rev. Jacob Rhodes, and Mr. Stephen H. Gloucester, colored brethren,
have withdrawn, and returned to their homes, in consequence of rep
resentations that their presence occasioned some unusual excitement in
a portion of the community ; therefore,
" Resolved, That the Synod regret the existence of a prejudice so
unreasonable ; and, especially, regret that their brethren, whose right
to a seat in this body stands on the same basis as that of any of its mem
bers, should have felt themselves called upon to relinquish privileges
to which they were justly entitled, and in the enjoyment of which they
should have been sacredly protected."
The Rev. Mr. Kip, in his recent work,* describing a visit he
made to the Propaganda College in Rome, says :
" The students, about eighty in number, were ranged on the two
sides of the chapel, and presented a strange mixture of all nations and
colors. I counted among them five Chinese, and two Africans. Yet
here they all sat side by side, without any distinction, singing together
the praises of their common Lord. Surely it must be acknowledged
that, in this respect, Rome carries out her own catholic principles, and
declares not only in words but by her actions, that " God hath made of
one blood, all nations of men, to dwell on the face of the earth." She
recognizes no distinction of climate or country in the house of God.
* Christmas Holidays in Rome. 1846.

REPROOF OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH. 451
We had just before, as we entered the door of the chapel, witnessed a
similar evidence of this catholic spirit. An old man, black as possible,
in an ecclesiastical dress, was just getting into a carriage. He was as
sisted by two priests, who, with many bows and demonstrations of re
spect, were taking leave of him."
We trust Mr. Kip remembered with pain the exclusion of
colored candidates for orders from the " Propaganda " of his
own Church, and the obloquy heaped on his colored brethren in
the ministry, by the Pennsylvania Convention, and that he will
joyfully aid in infusing into the Episcopal Church " the catholic
principles " so honorably manifested by Papists at Rome and
Presbyterians at Elkton.
In the course of these remarks we have expressed ourselves
strongly, because we felt deeply ; and on reviewing our lan
guage we see no cause to modify it. But while we cannot doubt
that the acts we have censured were morally wrong, we are too
painfully sensible of the frailty of our common nature, to inti
mate that a Christian profession, to be sincere, must be without
offence. Nor are we forgetful of the power of pecuniary interest,
parochial dependence, and habitual prejudice, in warping the
judgment, beguiling the conscience, and hardening the heart, in
relation to slavery and caste. Much, also, of what has been
wrong in our ecclesiastical proceedings, has unquestionably
arisen, not from reflection, but from the want of it. Neverthe
less, the responsibilities of the Church are of awful magnitude,
extending to the life that now is, and to that which is to come ;
and they are shared by all her members, however humble.
The Church militant will find her strength and safety only in
unceasing conflict with the world, however dire may be the strife.
The blood of martyrs has ever proved the seed of the Church.
But when she grows faint-hearted, and distrusting the " armor
of righteousness " provided by the Captain of her salvation,
seeks for weapons of earthly mould, and calls to her aid the
selfish passions and sinful prejudices of society, she is treacher
ous to her Lord, and forms a truce with his enemies fatal to
herself. Henceforth her energies, no longer directed against
the strongholds of sin, are wasted in "doubtful disputations,"

452 jay's WORKS.
and on unprofitable rites and ceremonies. The world is satisfied,
and applauds her discretion and moderation, because, although
she may retain the form of Godliness, she has parted with its
power. Had the American Church from the first fought a good fight
against slavery and caste, these abominations, which now so
much impair her usefulness, and so widely extend the dominion
of the great enemy of souls, would have been swept from our
land ; a new proof would have been given of the divine character
of our holy religion, and the Christian priesthood would have
acquired new claims to the gratitude and reverence of mankind.
Our Church has hitherto erred in no small measure from igno
rance and inadvertence. Such a plea can no longer avail her.
A voice from abroad — a voice she can neither stifle nor de
ride — calls her to repentance and reformation. The reproof of
Bishop Wilberforce must and will be heard. The sensibilities
of Christians in our land are awakening to the momentous ques
tions to which we have referred. The various denominations
around us are daily breaking the ties which have hitherto bound
them to the cause of the oppressor. Numerous Churchmen
among ourselves are complaining of the league which their
clergy and representative bodies have formed with human bond
age ; and the Church of England is marking and lamenting the
delinquencies of her daughter. If the Church values the appro
bation of her Divine Master ; if she appreciates the character
and objects of her own holy mission ; if she desires to avoid
agitation in her councils, she must be more than the promulgator
and advocate of an abstract theology, however pure and truthful
in itself. She must practically exhibit the blessed Gospel as at
once the antagonist and corrective of every form of wickedness
that mars the happiness of man in this world, as well as the
next ; she must, in short, manifest faith which worketh by
LOVE, PURIFIETH THE HEART, AND OVERCOMETH THE WORLD.

A LETTER
TO THE RIGHT REV. L. SILLIMAN IVES,
BISHOP OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE STATE OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

Right Reverend Sir :
History tells us of a certain bishop who was taken prisoner in
battle, while fighting against the king of France. The Pope,
indignant that a prelate of the church should be held as a cap
tive, demanded his instant liberation. To this mandate the
king replied by sending his Holiness the bishop's blood-stained
armor, with the words of Scripture, " This have we found :
know now, whether it be thy son's coat or no."
And surely the ambassador of Him who came to preach deliv
erance to the captive, and liberty to them that are bruised, as
effectually disguises and denies holy office, when he chants the
praises of slavery, with all its inseparable and unutterable abomi
nations, as when he arrays himself in the garment of the warrior,
and participates in the work of human butchery. Of all the
bishops of the church, you alone aspire to the championship of
human bondage. Your brother of Texas reposes on the laurels
he has won in the service of the slave-holders. Others of your
reverend and right reverend brethren are content to enjoy the
unrequited toils of their bondmen, without provoking the atten
tion of the pubhc to the discrepancy between their religion and

454 jay's WORKS.
their practice'. You alone throw down the gauntlet to the whole
of Christendom beyond the slave region. It was not enough
that you had already endorsed with the whole weight of your
Episcopal influence the frantic assertions, that " no men nok
SET OF MEN IN OUR DAY, UNLESS THEY CAN PRODUCE A
NEW REVELATION FROM HEAVEN, ARE ENTITLED TO PRO
NOUNCE SLAVERY WRONG," and that " SLAVERY, AS IT EXISTS
AT THE PRESENT DAY, IS AGREEABLE TO THE ORDER OF
Divine Providence ; " you must introduce the subject into the
council of your church, and entertain your convention with a
picture of the blessedness of North Carolina slaves, and with
sneers at the wailing of your fellow Christians over their " im
aginary " suffering. Should we seek for the cause of your peculiar
ultraism in behalf of human chattelism, we should probably find
it in the tendency of human nature, under a change of position,
to vibrate from one extreme to the other ; and which is exempli
fied in the proverbial cruelty and arrogance of the slave, when
elevated to the post of driver. Had you, when preparing for
the ministry among your native hills of New York, been told
that the day would come when you would claim to hold your
fellow-men as bondmen by the grace of God, and would scoff at
the sufferings of southern . slaves, the answer of Hazael to the
prophet would have trembled on your lips.
Your late address to the convention of your diocese contained
the following extraordinary passages :
" From this place I went, by the request-of my friend, Josiah Collins,
Esq., directly to the estates on Lake Scuppernong, which had been
without stated ministerial services for the greater part of the year.
Here, and in the neighboring parish at Pettigrew's chapel, I passed the
remainder part of the season of Lent, holding daily services, delivering
lectures, and commencing a new course of oral catechetical instruc
tions to the servants. This course is to embrace the prominent events
and truths of the Old and New Testaments, as connected with man's
fall and redemption, and is designed to follow the oral catechism I
have already published. The services here were of the most gratifying
character, fully justifying all that has been said and anticipated of the
system of religious training heretofore pursued on these plantations,
When I saw master .and servants standing side by side in the holy ser
vices of Passion week — when I saw all secular labor on these planta
tions suspended on Good Friday, and the cleanly clad multitude throng
ing the house of prayer, to pay their homage to a crucified Saviour—

idij.i'jiJS, TO x>ISHOP IVESi

455

and when I saw on the blessed Easter morn, the master with his
goodly number of servants kneeling with reverent hearts and devout
thanksgivings to take the bread of life at the same altar — I could not
but indulge the hope that ere long my spirit may be refreshed by such
scenes in every part of my diocese ; while I could not help believing
that, had some of our brethren of other lands been present, they would
have been induced to change the note of their wailing over imaginary
suffering, into the heartfelt exclamation, ' Happy are the people that
are in such a case^ yea, blessed are the people who have the Lord for
their God.'
" Often, at such times, have I wished for the presence of my friend,
the good Bishop of Oxford, as I have felt assured that, could he but
once witness what it is my happiness to witness, though in a too imperfect
state, his manly heart would prompt him to ask instant pardon of the
American church, for having spoken so harshly upon a subject which
he so imperfectly understood ; and that he would perceive that his Chris
tian sympathy might find a much more natural vent in efforts to remove
the cruel oppressions of the factory system in his own country, and
his Christian indignation a much more legitimate object of rebuke
in the English churchmen who have helped to rivet that system upon
their land."
If ever truth is peculiarly obligatory, it is when a bishop,
acting in his high and holy office, addresses a council of the
church of God. We are here informed that our brethren of
other lands have raised a " note of wailing over IMAGINARY
suffering ; " and the context forbids us to understand the expres
sion in any other sense than a solemn official declaration that
southern slavery is unattended with real actual suffering ! The
assurance is also avowed, that had the Bishop of Oxford wit
nessed the scenes at Scuppernong, he would have been prompted
to ask instant pardon of the American church, for having spoken
so harshly upon a subject which he so imperfectly understood.
Such an assurance is no less wonderful than unwarranted. The
subject on which the bishop is accused of having spoken harshly
and without understanding it, is American slavery, and the sup
port afforded it by the American church.
Your address, sir, is the first response made to the Bishop of
Oxford's reproof of the American church. So long as it was
hoped the reproof would be suppressed in this country, a most
profound silence was observed respecting it. Scarcely an Epis
copalian in the country seemed to know that the history of his
church had been written by an eminent English divine. But

456 jay's works.
no sooner is an extract from his history published, bearing upon
the horrors of southern slavery, and the delinquencies of our
bishops and clergy respecting it, than you think proper to rep
resent him as imperfectly acquainted with the subject, and pro
fess to believe that, if better informed, he would ask instant
pardon of the church for what he had written.* It is to be
regretted, sir, that you found it inexpedient to specify the alleged
suffering which you pronounce imaginary, or to point out a single
mistake into which your good brother of Oxford has fallen, and
Which would tend in any degree to verify your charge against
him of imperfectly understanding his subject. But sir, there, are
writers against whom you, a northern man, will not think it dec
orous to bring a similar charge. The following witnesses, you
will perceive, differ from you as to the blessedness of southern
slavery, and dare to call it wrong, without waiting for a new
revelation from Heaven.
Wahington : — " Your late purchase of an estate in the colony of
Cayenne, with a view of emancipating the slaves on it, is a generous
and noble proof of your humanity. Would to God a like spirit might
diffuse itself generally into the minds of the people of this country."
Letter to Lafayette, 10th May, 17 '86.
Jefferson: — " Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure,
when we have removed the only firm basis — a conviction in the minds
of the people that these liberties are the gift of God — that they are not
to be violated but with his wrath ? Indeed I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep for ever;
that, considering numbers, nature, and natural means only, a revolution
of the wheel of fortune, an exchange of situation is among possible
events ; that it may become possible by supernatural interference.
The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a
Contest." Notes on Virginia.
* " No doubt, the whole church of England might with equal propriety be
called to ask pardon of her American daughter, as it is to be hoped every one
¦of her bishops, priests and deacons, most cordially concurs in the propriety
and justice of the Bishop of Oxford's reproof. The Bishop of Norwich, in a
letter of 19th October, 1840, to an American gentleman who had furnished
him with certain papers, including portions of Freeman's Sermon, and Bishop
Ives's endorsement of it, remarks : " I have always considered it as an
anomaly, that any State professing Christianity could for a moment tolerate
a tyranny so utterly at variance with every feeling of justice and humanity,
but I never could have believed that any individuals existed, calling them
selves ministers of the gospel, whose minds were so darkened by prejudice and
Belf-interest as to avow an approval of slavery and its evil consequences,
had I not found them so unequivocally confirmed in the documents above
mentioned."

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 457
Madison: — "Many circumstances at the present moment seem to
concur in brightening the prospects of the Society, and cherishing the
hope that the time will come when the dreadful calamity which has so
long afflicted our country, and filled so many with despair, will be
gradually removed." Letter to American Colonization Society, 29th
December, 1831.
Monroe : — " We have found that this evil (slavery) has preyed
upon the very vitals of the community, and has been prejudicial to all
the States in which it has existed." Speech in Virginia Convention.
William Plnkney : — "It is really matter of astonishment to me,
that the people of Maryland do not blush at the very name of freedom.
Not content with exposing to the world, for near a century, a speaking
picture of abominable oppression, they are still ingenious to prevent
the hand of generosity from robbing it of half its horrors." Speech on
Slavery in Maryland House of Delegates, 1789.
Pateick Henry : — " It is a debt we owe the purity of our reli
gion, to show that it is at variance with that law which warrants sla
very." Letter to A. Benezet.
Manumission Society of North Carolina : — "In the east
ern parts of the State, the slaves considerably outnumber the free
population. Their situation there is wretched beyond description. Im
poverished by the mismanagement which we have already attempted
to describe, the master, unable to supply his own grandeur and main
tain his slaves, puts the unfortunate wretches upon short allowance,
scarcely sufficient for their sustenance, so that a great part go half
naked and half starved much of the time. . . . Generally, throughout
the State, the African is an abused, a monstrously outraged creature.'
Report, 1826.
John Randolph : — " Sir, I envy neither the head nor the heart
of that man, from the North, who rises here to defend slavery on prin
ciple." Speech in Congress, 1829.
Mb. Moore : — " Slavery as it exists in Virginia, may be regarded
as the heaviest calamity which has ever fallen to this portion of the
human race. One of the evils which arises from it, is the irresistible
tendency which it has to undermine and destroy everything like virtue
and morality in the community." Speech in Virginia Legislature, 1832.
Thomas M. Randolph: — "It is a practice, and an increasing
practice, in parts of Virginia, to rear slaves for market. How
can an honorable mind, a patriot and a lover of his country, bear to
see this Ancient Dominion converted into one vast menagerie, where
men are reared for market like oxen for the shambles 1" Speech in Vir
ginia Legislature, 1832.
Rev. R. J. Breckenridge, of Baltimore : — " What is slavery as
it exists among us ? We reply, it is that condition, enforced by the
laws of one half of the States of this confederacy, in which one portion
of the community, called masters, is allowed such power over another
portion, called slaves, as —
"1. To deprive them of the entire earnings of their own labor,
39*

458 jay's works.
except only so much as is necessary to continue labor itself, by continu
ing healthy existence — thus committing clear robbery.
" 2. To reduce them to the necessity of universal concubinage, by
denying to them the civil rights of marriage — thus breaking up the
dearest relations of life, and encouraging universal prostitution.
" 3. To deprive them of the means and opportunities of moral and
intellectual Culture; in many States making it a high penal offence to
teach them to read — thus perpetuating whatever evil there is that pro
ceeds from ignorance.
"4. To set up between parents and their children an authority higher
than the impulse of nature and the laws of God, which breaks up the
authority of the father over his own offspring, and at pleasure separates
the mother at a returnless distance from her child — thus abrogating
the clear laws of nature, thus outraging all decency and justice, and
degrading and oppressing thousands upon thousands of beings created
like themselves m the image of the Most High God. This is sla
very, as it is daily exhibited in every slave State." African Reposi
tory, 1834.
Synod of Kentucky : — " Brutal stripes, and all the various kinds
of personal indignities are not the only species of cruelty which slavery
licenses. The law does not recognize the family relations of a slave,
and extends to him no protection in the enjoyment of domestic endear
ments. The members of a slave family may be forcibly separated, so
that they shall never more meet till the final judgment ; and cupidity
often induces the masters to practise what the law allows. Brothers
"and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives are torn asunder,
and permitted to see each other no more. These acts are daily occur
ring in the midst of us. The shrieks and the agony often witnessed
on such occasions proclaim with a trumpet tongue, the iniquity and
cruelty of our system." Address, 1835.
Henry Clay : — "I consider slavery as a curse — a curse to the
master — a wrong, a grievous wrong to the slave. In the abstract, it is
all wrong, and no possible contingency can make it right." Coloniza
tion Speech, 1336.
T. Marshall, of Fauquier county, Virginia : — " Slavery is ruinous
to the whites. The master has no capital but what is vested in human
.flesh. The father, instead of being richer for his sons, is at a loss
to provide for them. There is no diversity of occupations, no incentive
to enterprise. Labor of every species is disreputable, because performed
mostly by slaves. Our towns are stationary, our villages almost every
where declining, and the general aspect of the country marks the
curse of a wasteful, idle, reckless population, who have no interest in
"the soil, and care not how much it is impoverished." Speech in Vir
ginia Legislature, 1845.
And now, sir, what will you do with this host of witnesses,
which might be indefinitely enlarged ? Will you, a northern
man, charge these witnesses with an imperfect knowledge of sla
very ? By no means ; but you may say of them, quite as truly
as of the Bishop of Oxford, that, had they only been at Scup-

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 459
pernong last Good Friday and Easter Sunday, they would have
" been prompted to ask instant pardon " of the American church,
for having spoken so harshly of an institution which she enjoys,
defends, and blesses.
Warburton, in his Divine Legation (vol. II, p. 92,) informs
us that the ancient sages held it lawful and expedient to teach
one doctrine to the people at large, and an opposite one to a
select number. Hence the double doctrine of these philosophers
— the one external, intended for the public, and known as the
exoteric; the other internal, common to friends and disciples,
and denominated the esoteric. The slave-holders of the present
day have their double doctrine also ; and to distinguish between
the exoteric and the esoteric, it is only necessary to ascertain
whether the language used is intended for effect on the north or
the south side of Mason and Dixon's line. For the purpose of
illustrating this double doctrine, which in the sequel will be
found very useful in explaining the spiritual phenomena wit
nessed at Scuppernong, I will call your attention to the exoteric
teachings of those distinguished sages, Governors Hayne and
Hammond, both within a few years chief magistrates of South
Carolina. The former, in his message to the Legislature, in
1833, thus speaks to the South Carolina lawgivers, but only for
the purpose of being overheard by the people of the North :
" It is a remarkable fact, that even during the revolutionary war,
when the State was overrun by a barbarous enemy, marching openly
under the banner of emancipation, our domestics could not be seduced
from their masters, but proved a source of strength, and not of weak
ness, to the country."
Governor Hayne, no doubt, adopted the maxim of the Grecian
philosophers, that truth and utility do not always coincide ; for
he was, of course, too well informed in the history of his native
State not to have been conscious that the " remarkable fact "
thus officially announced was an impudent invention of his own.
Let us listen to the testimony borne by history to the fidelity of
South Carolina domestics, and the strength they yielded to the
countiy during the revolutionary war :
" March 29, 1799. — The committee appointed to take into considera
tion the circumstances of the Southern States, and the ways and means

460 jay's works.
for their safety and defence, report : That the State of South Caro
lina (as represented by the delegates of said State, and by Mr. Huger,
who has come hither, at the request of the Governor of said State, on
purpose to explain the peculiar circumstances thereof) is unable to
make any effectual efforts with the militia, by reason of the great pro
portion of citizens necessary to remain at home to prevent insurrection
among the negroes, and prevent their desertion to the enemy." Secret
Journal of Congress, Vol. H, p. 105.
" The negroes seduced and taken from the inhabitants of South
Carolina in the course of the war, remained subject to the disposal
of the enemy. They were successively shipped to the West Indies ;
and it is asserted, on the authority of the best informed citizens of
South Carolina, that more than twenty thousand slaves were lost
to the State in consequence of the war." Col. H. Lee's Memoirs of
the Revolutionary War in the Southern Department, Vol. II, p. 456.
Dr. Ramsay was a native of South Carolina, and in 1809,
published his History of the State, in the city of Charleston.
Is it to be believed that the governor had never heard of the
following facts recorded by the historian ? Speaking of the
campaign of 1779, Eamsay tells us :
" The forces under the command of General Provost marched
through the richest settlements of the State, where are the fewest white
inhabitants in proportion to the number of slaves. The hapless Afri
cans, allured with the hopes of freedom, forsook their owners, and re
paired in great numbers to the royal army. They endeavored to
recommend themselves to their new masters by discovering where their
owners had concealed their property, and were assisting in carrying it
off." Vol. I, p. 312.
Describing the invasion the next year, he says :
" The slaves a second time flocked to the British army." Vol. I, p.
336. Again: "Immediately after the surrender (of Charleston,) five
hundred negroes were ordered to be put on board the ships for pioneers
to the royal forces in New York." Vol. I, p. 35.
Finally : " It has been computed by good judges, that between the
years 1775 and 1783 the State of South Carolina lost TWENTY-
FIVE THOUSAND negroes ! I " Vol. I, p. 475.
The census of 1790 found the whole number of slaves, men,
women, and children, in South Carolina, to be only 107,000.
Now if a few years before, of those physically capable of seek
ing refuge in the British camp and fleet, no less than twenty-five
thousand availed themselves of the presence of the enemy to

LETTER to BISHOP IVES. 461
escape from their masters, we may form some idea of the truth
oi Governor Hayne's eulogium on the fidelity of South Carolina
slaves. The object of the Governor's mendacious fact was to lead
the people of the North to believe that their sympathy for the
slaves was misplaced, that their suffering was "imaginary;"
since, if they retained their allegiance to their masters, in the
presence of a British. emancipating army, they must certainly
be very well contented with their condition.
In 1822, there was in Charleston a rumor of an intended
servile insurrection; and this very gentleman, then Colonel
Hayne, patrolled the streets one whole night, at the head of five
companies of soldiers, to prevent the faithful domestics from
cutting their masters' throats. No less than thirty-five "do
mestics " were soon after tried, convicted, and hung, for their
intended insurrection ; and in this judicial butchery, this same
Colonel Hayne played his part as one of the judges !
The Governor did not see fit to refer to the fidelity of south
ern slaves during the more recent war of 1812. Let us supply
his omission. A memorial presented to Congress by certain
Virginia and Maryland slave-holders, and to be found in the
documents of the 2d Sess., 20th Cong., sets forth, that " in July
and August, 1814, the enemy made several landings on the
northern neck of Virginia. All the militia in this peninsula
were called into service, and the property (slaves) was pretty
well protected. On a sudden, an order came, that all the troops
should be marched to the defence of Washington ; and this neck
of eighteen miles wide was emptied of all its efficient force for
nearly six weeks. During the absence of the forces there was
nothing to restrain our slaves, and they flocked in hundreds
TO THE ENEMY."
Governor Hammond, another South Carolina sage, addressing
the North from the floor pf Congress, 1st of February, 1836,
taught the following exoteric doctrine :
'[ Sir, our slaves are a peaceful, kind-hearted, and affectionate race,
satisfied with their lot, happy in their comforts, and devoted to their mas
ters." It will not be an easy thing to seduce them from their fidelity."

462 jay's WORKS.
And now, sir, for a little esoteric doctrine relative to the " de
votion " of slaves to their masters. Soon after the hanging of
domestics by dozens in Charleston, a pamphlet appeared there,
entitled " Reflections occasioned by the Late Disturbances in
Charleston," attributed to Gen; T. Pinkney. It was an essay
on the dangers to be apprehended from the slave population,
and the means of averting them. Of the " house servants " it
is said :
" They are the most dangerous ; their intimate acquaintance with all
the circumstances relating to the interior of the dwellings, the confi
dence reposed in them, and the information they unavoidably obtain
from hearing the conversation and observing the habitual transactions
Of their owners, afford them the most ample means for treacherous
bloodshed and devastation. The success, therefore, of servile
conspiracies mainly depends on this class for taking off by midnight
murder their unsuspecting owners ; and the late trials, by exhibiting
so large a portion of this description among the ringleaders of the
conspiracy, afford a melancholy proof of their promptitude to become
actors in such scenes," p. 14.
Another pamphlet came out the same year at Charleston,
said to be from the pen of Edwin C. Holland, Esq., and called
" A Rufutation of the Calumnies circulated against the Southern
and Western States." It concluded with the following esoteric
advice :
" Let it never be forgotten, that our negroes are truly the Jacobins
of the country ; that they are the anarchists and the domestic enemy ;
the common enemy oi civilized society ; and the barbarians who would,
if they could, become the destroyers of our race."
" We of the South," says the Maysville (Tennessee) Intelligencer,
" are emphatically surrounded by a dangerous class of beings — de
graded, stupid savages — who, if they could but once entertain the idea
that immediate and unconditional death would not be their portion,
would reenact the St. Domingo tragedy."
Says the Southern Religious Telegraph :
" Hatred to the whites, with the exception in some cases of attach
ment to the person and family of the master, is nearly universal among
the black population. We have, then, a foe cherished in our own
bosoms — a foe willing to draw our life blood whenever the oppor
tunity is offered."
The slave-holders, when thus cautioning each other against.

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 463
the intense hatred felt for them by the slaves, seem never to ask
themselves, " Is there not a cause ? "
The double doctrine is not confined to the laity ; even the
clergy occasionally condescend to use it. One of the most
astonishing specimens of the clerical exoteric to be met with in
the writings of southern divines, is furnished by the Rev. J. C.
Thornton, President of the Centenary College, Clinton, Mis
sissippi. This gentleman, in a volume entitled an " Inquiry
into the History of Slavery, 1841," but in reality, a philippic
against abolitionists, scoffing at the alleged ignorance of the
slaves, thus exclaims :
" They are so ' ignorant ' that they are chiefly all in the South mem
bers of three or four denominations, Protestant Episcopalians, Presby
terians, Baptists, Methodists.; among all of whom are colored ministers
of exalted standing, who would honor any pulpit in America. When
those who are not church members are added to the above, it will
make at least two millions of slaves in regular attendance on divine
worship," pp. 108 — 110.
To these specimens of the reverend gentleman's veracity, we
add one of his refinement. Addressing, in his book, by name,
two anti-slavery writers at the North, he tells them —
" Bring forward your son, out with your daughter, and either shall
have an Angola negro before night," p. 140.
As the whole number of slaves, including children, at the last
census, was rather less than three millions, and at the least two
millions of these are in regular attendance on divine worship, it
must be confessed that the slaves are the greatest church-going
people in the world. " Happy are the people that are in such
a case." But before indulging in our pious gratulations, let us
attend to the esoteric teaching on the subject of slave religion.
In a sermon preached before an association of planters in Geor
gia, by the Rev. C. C. Jones, and published at Savannah, 1831,
we have the following confessions :
" The description which the Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Ro
mans, gives of the heathen world, will apply, with very little abatement,
to our negroes._ They lie, blaspheme, are slothful, envious, malicious,
inventors of evil things, deceivers, covenant breakers, implacable, un
merciful. Numbers of the negroes do not go to church, and cannot

464 jay's works.
tell who Jesus Christ is, nor have they ever heard so much as the ten
commandments read and explained  Generally speaking,
they appear to be without hope, and without God in the world — A
nation of heathen in our very midst."
The report of the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, made
5th of December, 1833, and published at Charleston, makes the
following revelations :
" Who would credit it, that in these years of revival and benevolent
effort, in this Christian republic, there are over two millions of
human beings in the condition of heathen, and in some respects in a
worse condition ? From long-continued and close observation, we
believe that their moral and religious condition is such that they may
justly be considered the heathen of this Christian country, and will
bear a comparison with heathen in any part of the world. ... It
is universally the fact throughout the slave-holding States, that either
custom or law prohibits them the acquisition of letters, and conse
quently they can have no access to the Scriptures  In the
vast field, extending from an entire State beyond the Potomac to the
Sabine river, and from the Atlantic to the Ohio, there are, to the best
of our knowledge, not twelve men exclusively devoted to the rehgious
instruction of the negroes. As to ministers of their own color, they
are destitute, infinitely, both in point of numbers and qualifications, to
say nothing of the fact that such a ministry is looked upon with dis
trust, and discountenanced. But do not the negroes have access to
the Gospel through the stated ministry of the whites ? No 
We venture the assertion, that if we take the whole number of minis
ters in the slave-holding States, but a very small portion pay any atten
tion to them  The negroes have no regular and efficient
ministry.; as a matter of course, no churches ; neither is there suffi
cient room in the white churches for their accommodation. We know
of butane churches in the slave-holding States built expressly for their
use. . . . We may now inquire if they enjoy the privileges of the
Gospel in private, in their own houses, or on their own plantations.
Again we return a negative answer. They have no Bibles to read
at their own fireside, they have no family altars; and when in affliction
and sickness, or death, they have no minister to address to them the
consolations of the Gospel, nor to bury them with solemn and appro
priate services."
Certainly the reverend President of " Centenary College,
Clinton, Mississippi," and the Synod of South Carolina and
Georgia, differ somewhat as to the religious character of two
millions of slaves. According to the one, they are regular at
tendants on divine worship ; according to the other, they are
" in the condition of heathen." According to the one, among
the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist slaves

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 465
there are "colored ministers of exalted standing, who would
honor any pulpit in America." According to the other — " As
to ministers of their own color, they are destitute infinitely, both
in point of number and qualifications."
A writer in the Charleston Courier tells us, " There are up
wards of 20,000 colored persons in Charleston and on the Neck,
and there are but inadequate accommodations and opportunities
for their attendance on -the preaching of the Word of God, by
admission to galleries in some of our churches ; there being many
which do not even vochsafe them that privilege." A late writer
in the Charleston Mercury, opposing a proposition to form colored
congregations, remarks :
" It has been the policy of this State, not to admit the teaching to
the slaves, either of reading or writing ; we all know why this is so.
No matter from what combination of causes, the result has been pro
duced, in this part of the country, ' for weal or for wo,' our lives and
fortunes are indissolubly connected with the preservation of that insti-
tion. It needed no great scope of argument to satisfy those who framed
our laws, that the expansion of intellect, the hundred influences which
education generates, would be very inconsistent with habits of obedi
ence, which was the corner-stone of the institution."
Let us now apply this double doctrine to the case of the slave
Christians of Scuppernong, and see whether we cannot find
some esoteric revelations which might cause the Bishop of Ox
ford to pause a little before he asks pardon for his reproof -of
the American church.
It seems that, during Lent, you visited certain plantations
"which had been without stated ministerial services for the
greater part of the year." In the midst of this destitution of
the means of grace, you appeared on the ground, and " com
menced," — for it appears you had no time to finish, — "a new
course of oral catechetical instruction to the servants." How
far the servants were permitted to listen to your daily lectures-
and services, and whether they enjoyed the oral instruction on
other days than the Sabbath, is uncertain, since no mention is
made of the suspension of labor on the plantations, except on
Good Friday. However this may be, certain results are re
corded. You saw masters and servants standing side by side in
40

466 jay's works.
the holy services of Passion week. Probably the church in
which you officiated had no galleries, and hence when the ser
vices required the congregation to stand, you saw the masters
and slaves standing on the same floor. Had you seen them sit
ting together in the same pews, we could better have understood
their position, and should have shared your surprise. On Good
Friday, all secular labor was suspended. This, of course, was
not the effect of the oral instruction to the servants, but an act
of civility on the part of the masters to the bishop, who had
made the visit by particular request. On this day, you saw the
" cleanly clad multitude thronging the house of prayer, to pay
homage to a crucified Saviour." It was far easier to see a large
gang of slaves standing in the church, than to see the motive
which brought them there. It is not to be supposed that, during
the bishop's visit, the slaves were told to throw down their hoes,
and put on clean chothes, merely to spend Good Friday in
dancing, or roaming over the plantations. Whatever may have
been the piety of the " multitude," they were most unquestion
ably ordered to go to church, and a sound flogging would have
been the fate of every truant. On the blessed Easter morn you
behold " the master with his goodly number of servants kneeling
with reverent hearts and devout thanksgivings, to take the bread
of life at the same altar." As no Protestant Episcopal church
has as yet more than one altar or communion table, the commu
nicants, as a matter of course, knelt at the same. As the ser
vice was performed by you, it was of course performed with
rubrical correctness ; and, not being interrupted with narratives
of personal experiences and feelings, it is not very obvious how
you made the discovery that the goodly number of servants knelt
with reverent hearts and devout thanksgivings.
You flatter yourself, sir, that if these sights had been witnessed
by some of " our brethren from other lands " (probably North
ern and English abolitionists,) they would have changed their
note of wailing over imaginary suffering into the jubilant chant,
" Happy are the people that are in such a case ; yea, blessed
are the people who have the Lord for their God ! ! " Be assured,
sir, that unless they very imperfectly understood the subject, no

letter to bishop ives. 467
such exclamations would be prompted by their hearts, nor escape
from their lips. They would not regard as happy the masters
who compelled a goodly number of their fellow Christians to
toil for them without wages ; and the more easily to keep them in
subjection, prevented the expansion of their intellect, and denied
them the common rights of humanity, and particularly that of
searching the Scriptures. They would not regard the multitude
of slaves happy, because excused from labor on Good Friday,
while toiling under the lash every other week day in the year ;
nor, finally, would they pronounce masters and slaves happy,
merely because they were seen to receive the communion on
Easter Sunday.
Most true it is, that he who has the Lord for his God is
blessed, whether he bleeds under the lash of the slave-driver, or
expires a martyr at the stake ; and equally true is it, that his
blessedness affords no justification to his brother for treating him
as a beast of burden, or offering his life a sacrifice to religious
intolerance. No Christian will deny the power of the Holy
Spirit to penetrate the gloomy prison house of southern bondage,
and to enlighten, sanctify, and save its miserable inmates. But
the blessings of grace, as of providence, are ordinarily bestowed
in return for the use of appointed means ; and where those
means are withheld, or partially applied, or grossly perverted,
other evidence may justly be required, that the slave has made
the Lord his God, than the simple fact that he is seen to receive
the eommunion in his master's church, and in his company. It
is somewhat questionable whether your spirit would have been
equally refreshed at the sight of a multitude of Presbyterian,
Baptist, or Methodist slaves, receiving the communion from the
hands of a minister destitute of Episcopal ordination; or
whether you would have been equally assured of their blessed
ness. Yet you well know, sir, that in the choice of their church
and creed the slaves are for the most part passive ; and that, had
the Scuppernong communicants been sent to auction on Easter
Monday, they would each thenceforth have worshipped in the
place and manner directed by " the highest bidder."
The Southern churches number their slave communicants by

468 jay's works.
thousands ; but profession is not principle ; and in all ages and
countries, there has ever been a ready conformity to the religion
of the ruling despot. Where the slave makes no religious
profession, the cause is for the most part to be found in the in
difference of the master.
The esoteric teaching on this subject is not calculated to inspire
very strong confidence in slave piety. In an account of the
" Intended Insurrection," published by the authorities of Charles
ton, 1822, it is stated, that of those executed several had been
u. class-leaders." " Jack Green was a preacher ; Billy Palmer
exceedingly pious, and a communicant of the church of his
master ; Jack Purcell, no less devout." The ensuing year, the
Rev. Dr. Dalcho, assistant minister of St. Michael's church,
Charleston, published a pamphlet in vindication of slavery, but
had the decency to omit his name on the title-page.* Alluding
to the late conspirators, he says :
" I write, with feelings of the deepest regret, that some of the con
spirators were preachers, class-leaders, and communicants ; thus veri
fying the truth of a remark which teachers have too often occasion to
make, that there it little confidence to be placed in the
religious professions of negroes. I speak generally. Much
animal excitement may be, and oftentimes is, produced, where but little
real devotion is felt in the heart. I sympathize most sincerely with the
very respectable and pious clergyman, whose heart must still bleed at
the recollection that his confidential class-leader, but a week or two
before his just conviction, had received the communion of the Lord's
Supper from his hand. This wretch had been brought up in his pas
tor's family, and was treated with the same Christian attention as was
shown to their children." +
Says the venerable and Rev. Dr. Nelson, a native of Tennes
see, and formerly President of Marion College, Missouri :
" The concentrated recollection of thirty years furnishes me with
three instances only, where I could say I have reason, from the known
walk of that slave, to believe him or her a sincere Christian."
The Rev. C. C. Jones, probably better acquainted with the
* Practical Considerations, founded on the Scriptures, relative to the Slave
Population of South Carolina. By a South Carolinian.
t But the wretch was the slave of his pastor.

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 46"
religious character of the slaves than any other southern minis
ter, says, in his sermon already quoted :
" Of the professors of religion among them, there are many
of questionable piety, who occasion the different churches great trduble
in discipline, for they are extremely ignorant, and frequently are guilty
of ihe grossest vices."
After such facts and confessions, you cannot, sir, be surprised,
should your brethren from other lands be a little sceptical about
the "reverent hearts and devout thanksgivings " of the goodly
number of the Scuppernong negroes. But, alas ! sir, there are
indeed far weightier reasons than these facts and confessions, to
justify such scepticism.
The very peculiar character of that Christianity which is
offered to the slaves is well calculated to insure its rejection by
them. Love is the great motive, argument, and command of
the Gospel. God is love. God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son. We love God, because he first
loved us. Love one another, so shall all men know that ye are
my disciples. One is your Father, which is in heaven ; all ye
are brethren. When we are cruelly and unjustly treated, we
know that we suffer in violation of the precepts of our religion,
and we are taught to pray for the offender, that his sin may be
forgiven. Far different is the religion offered to the slave. He
is instructed that the common Father of all has authorized a
portion of his children to convert the others into articles of mer
chandise. The favored children, moreover, are permitted to
withhold from their brethren the revelation made by their Heav
enly Father, and which he has declared is able to make them
wise unto salvation. The slave also learns, by experience, that
to him is denied the marriage and the parental relations — blessed
boons, expressly conferred by God upon others. While this
religion calls on some to be diligent in business, that they may
provide for their families, he is informed that this same religion
requires from him unceasing and unrepining toil, for the sole
benefit of his happier brethren. A future life is indeed revealed
to him, and he is promised happiness in another world, on
certain conditions ; among which are, always, obedience to his
40*

470 jay's works.
master, and refusal to escape from bondage. The slave is taught
that those privations and sufferings which he endures, and which
outrage his moral sense, are in perfect accordance with the pre
cepts of his religion ; and that to pray for the forgiveness oi his
oppressor would be but to insult that Divine Majesty which
clothed the oppressor with power, and authorized him to use it
in crushing his weaker brother.
Such is the Christianity presented to the slave — a religion
which his own consciousness must tell him is partial, severe, and
unjust, nullifying in the case of the black man the holy and
benevolent precepts it gives to his white brother, and sanctifying
a system of cruelty and oppression, which every faculty of his
soul tells him is wrong.
And by whom is this species of Christianity received, beyond
the slave-region ? Almost the whole of Christendom rejects it
as spurious. The wise and good of all countries abhor it. The
bishops of the Church of England denounce it. Not a bishop
at home, in a free State, dare give it his sanction. And yet it
is supposed that the poor slave, who of all others has the most
reason to reject a religion which sinks him below humanity, will
cordially embrace it.
Not only is this religion necessarily repugnant to the natural
moral sense of the slaves, but the very persons who preach it
must be objects of their distrust and aversion. No minister
addresses the slaves on a plantation, but by permission of the
master ; nor is any slave ordinarily admitted to Christian ordi
nances, but by the same permission, expressed or implied. Hence
the minister virtually addresses the slave as the agent of his
master, and, instead of letting the slave perceive that he sym
pathizes in his sufferings, and laments and condemns his oppres
sion, he labors to impress him with the belief that God Almighty
sanctions the servitude beneath which he groans, and requires
from him a ready submission to it. Is it in human nature that
such shepherds should be loved by the flock ?
No clergyman at the South has probably labored more zeal
ously in behalf of the spiritual interests of the slaves than the
Rev. C. C. Jones ; but, unhappily, he has labored as the a°-ent

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 471
of the masters, and the supporter of human bondage ; and what
has been his success ? Listen to his story, as related in the
Tenth Report of the Association for the Religious Instruction of
the Negroes in Liberty county, Georgia :
" I was preaching," says he, " to a large congregation, on the Epistle
to Philemon ; and when I insisted on fidelity and obedience as Christian
virtues in servants, and upon the authority of Paul, condemned the
practice of running away, one-half of my audience deliberately
rose up and walked off with themselves; and those who remained looked
anything but satisfied with the preacher or his doctrine. After dismis
sion, there was no small stir among them; some solemnly declared that
there was no such Epistle in the Bible ; others, that it was not the
Gospel ; others, that / preached to please the masters ; others, that they
did not care if they never heard me preach again," p. 24.
Had Mr. Jones been untrammelled by the theory of slavery
and the interests of the masters, he would have preached a very
different sermon, and experienced very different treatment.
After reading the Epistle, he would have told his audience that
the text left it wholly uncertain whether Onesimus was a slave or
a hired servant; that, in either case, the apostle had no power to
compel him to return to his master ; and that, of course, his
return was wholly voluntary ; that, so far from being in dis
grace, or hable to arrest on his journey, he was sent by the
apostle as " a faithful and beloved brother," a messenger to a
Christian church (Col. iv, 9) ; that, if he was in fact a slave,
then the apostle demanded his immediate emancipation, by re
quiring his master to receive him, " not now as a slave, but
above a slave, a brother beloved." The preacher might then
have pressed upon his hearers, from the injunctions of the
apostle, the duties of forgiveness and kindness. Such a sermon
would have recommended Christianity to the slaves, and exposed
the preacher to be lynched by the masters.
In 1792-93, a number of American citizens were held as
slaves in Algiers, and by as valid and sacred a title as that by
which any slave is held in North Carolina. Indeed, these Amer
ican slaves were held by precisely the same title, the fortune of
war, as were a great portion of the Roman slaves, whose bond
age you and Bishop Freeman insist was approved by Christ and

472 jay's works.
his apostles. These slaves, one hundred and five in number, in
a petition to Congress, declared : " We are employed daily at
the most laborious work, without respect of persons, and shut up
at night in two slave-prisons." What would have been the
feelings of these slaves towards an English clergyman, in the
pay of the Dey, who, with his permission, should have preached
to them from the Epistle to Philemon, urging upon them fidelity
and obedience to their Algerine masters as Christian duties, and
assuring them, on the authority of St. Paul, of the great sin
they would commit in attempting to escape from their " slave-
prisons ? "
Mr. Jones has prepared a catechism for the slaves. In this
manual of religious instruction, they are asked, " Is it right for
the servant to run away ? or is it right to harbor a runaway ? "
To this question, the slaves are required to respond an emphatic
"No." Is there a slave, is there a white man, who believes that the
Rev. C. C. Jones, if, through some misfortune or violence, he
should be reduced to bondage in Russia or Turkey, would not,
in spite of his catechism, embrace the first favorable opportunity
" to run away ? " or, if he could not run away himself, that he
would be restrained by scruples of conscience from harboring a
fellow-countryman, who had partially succeeded in making his
escape ? Yet the wretched slaves are required by their reli
gious teachers to believe that God requires them to remain vol
untarily in a state of ignorance and degradation, and even to
refuse their aid to their wives, children and friends, who are
endeavoring to recover their liberty ! Such a doctrine is alone
sufficient to give the negroes a disgust to the religion of which
they are assured it forms a part. And now let me ask, Who
believes or acknowledges this doctrine, beyond the slave-region ?
Is there a minister of Christ, except among the slave-holders,
who would so far -expose his sacred character to public abhor
rence, as to betray a fugitive slave to the kidnappers ? Who
thinks it a sin at the North or in Europe to harbor a runaway ?
Who, at the North, except here and there a needy attorney,
policeman, or a merchant ready to barter his character for

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 473
southern custom, is vile enough to carry into practice the doc
trine of Mr. Jones's negro catechism, and bewray him that wari-
dereth, or refuse to hide the outcasts, or to be a covert to them
from the face of the spoiler ?
Not only is Christianity presented to the slaves by its minis
ters in an odious and disgusting form, but these very ministers
are perceived by the slaves to be the agents of the masters, and
to preach to "please them," and are themselves almost univer
sally owners of human beings, buying and selling men, women,
and children. Is it possible that such men can be honored, and
trusted, and beloved, by the slaves, as their spiritual teachers,
friends, and guides ?
But, alas ! Christianity is rendered still more repulsive to the
slave by the fact that not only do its teachers make merchandise
of their brethren in Christ, but that organized churches are not
unfrequently " Christian brokers in the trade of blood,"
appropriating the profits of the traffic to the support of the priest
and the temple !
A fugitive slave told his friends at the North that he had
ceased receiving the Lord's Supper in the church to which he
had been attached, because the church had sold his brother to
pay for their communion plate ; and " I could not bear," said he,
" to go forward and receive the communion from vessels which
were the purchase of my brother's blood."
We have no proof of the truth of this anecdote, but we have
most abundant evidence of its credibility. Says the Rev. J.
Cable, in a printed letter of the 20th March, 1846 :
"I have lived eight years in a slave State (Virginia), and received
theological education at the Union Theological Seminary near Hamp
den Sydney College. Those who know anything about slavery, know
the worst kind is jobbing slavery — that is, hiring out slaves from year to
year, while the master is not present to protect them. It is the interest
of the one who hires them to get the worth of his money out of them,
and the loss is the master's, if they die. AVhat shocked me more than
anything else, was the church engaging in this jobbing of slaves. The
college church which I attended, held slaves enough to pay the pastor,
Mr. Stanton, one thousand dollars a year ; of which the church mem
bers, as I understood, did not pay a cent. The slaves, who had been

474 jay's works.
left to the church by some pious mother in Israel, had increased so as to
be a large and increasing fund. These were hired out on Christmas
day of each year — the day on which they celebrate the birth of our
Saviour — to the highest bidder. These worked hard^the whole year
to pay the pastor $1,000, and it was left to the caprice of the employers
whether they ever heard one sermon. Since the abolitionists have
made so much noise about the connection of the church with slavery,
the Rev. Elisha Balenter informed me the church has sold this prop
erty, and put the money into other stock. There were four churches
near the college that supported the pastor, in whole or in part, in the
same way, viz. : Cumberland church, John Kirk, pastor ; Briney
church, Wm. Plummer, pastor (since Dr. P., of Richmond) ; Buffalo
church, Mr. Cochran, pastor ; Pisgah church, near the Peaks of Otter,
J. Mitchell, pastor."
The Rev. Mr. Paxton, a Virginian, and once a slave-holder,
states, in his " Letters on Slavery," that the church in Virginia,
of which he was pastor, owned seventy slaves, and that his ¦
salary was chiefly derived from the hire of their labor.
In 1832, Mrs. Ann Pray, of Georgia, left a legacy of certain
slaves to the American Missionary Board of Commissioners —
a legacy very properly declined by the Board.
"A prime gang of ten negroes, accustomed to the culture of
cotton and provisions, belonging to the Independent Church, in
Christ Church parish," was advertised for sale in the . Charleston
Courier of 12th February, 1835.
In the Savannah Repubhcan, 23d March, 1845, C. O'Neal,
sheriff, advertised eight slaves for sale for cash, to satisfy a
mortgage in favor of "The Board of Directors of the Theologi
cal Seminary of the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia."
So it seems the Seminary loans its money on the security of
a certain amount of human flesh, and this under the direction of
the very Synod whose report " on the religious instruction of the
colored population " we have already quoted. Deeply are these
pious Christians exercised in their minds about the heathenism
of their brethren whom they are selling for cash, to educate
young gentlemen for the ministry !
The " Spirit of Missions " some time since informed its readers,
that " the Bishop of Georgia, in his Montpelier Institution, is
testing the sufficiency of slave-labor to support it." It is to
be hoped Bishop Elliott will before long favor the public with
the result of his interesting and very Christian experiment.

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES.

475

In the southern church, moreover, the desire for the salvation
of the negroes is in entire subserviency to the supposed interests
of the masters. The New Orleans Picayune of 16th August,
1841, has the following:
" Chauncey B. Black was brought before Recorder Baldwin, charged
with tampering with slaves. It was proved that he was seen con
versing with a number of them in the street ; that he asked them if
they could read and write, and if they would like a Bible. _ This was
the amount of the testimony against him. In palliation of his conduct,
it was shown that he was a regularly appointed agent of the Bible So
ciety in New Orleans, to distribute the Bible to such as would accept
of it. The Society, however, disclaimed having the most distant inten
tion of giving the Scriptures to slaves ; and it was said Black had ex
ceeded his commission in offering it. But as it appeared to be a mis
understanding on his part, and not intentional interference with the
peculiar institution, he was discharged with a caution not to repeat his
offence." Now hear the New Orleans Presbytery, in their Report of
1846: " There are within the bounds of the presbytery at least 100,000
colored persons, most of whom are slaves. It is a lamentable fact, that
by far the greater part are famishing and perish ing for the bread of life."
With what ineffable scorn must the slaves regard such lamen
tations over their famine for the bread of life, from the lips of
men who have not the most distant intention of giving the Scrip
tures to slaves !
The Southern Religious Telegraph had opened its columns to
a series of papers in behalf of Christianizing the slaves. Some
of the Virginians became alarmed, and forthwith the obsequious
editor announces :
"At the suggestion of some of our fellow-citizens, who regard the
discussion of the religious instruction of slaves inexpedient at this time,
we cheerfully comply with their wishes, and will discontinue for the
present the publication of articles on the subject." *
Says the Georgia Conference Missionary Society, in its Re
port for 1838:
" Our missions among the whites have shared in this season of re
freshing from the presence of the Lord. The missions to the slaves
have not been distinguished by so great a multiplication of church

476 jay's WORKS.
members, chiefly because the mode of operation is essentially different.
It is deemed imprudent to foster among the colored people those great
excitements which minister so powerfully to the building up of our so
cieties among the whites."
Here we have an avowal, that, from prudential reasons — that
is, from regard to the security of slave property — the slaves
have been deprived by these Methodist missionaries of certain
auxiliaries supposed to be highly conducive to salvation.
In 1835, the slave-holders of Charleston, having sacked the
Post Office, and riotously destroyed some anti-slavery papers
found in it, called a public meeting, for the avowed purpose of
controlling the freedom of the mail. The Charleston Courier,
giving the particulars of the meeting, announced that
" The clergy of aU denominations attended in a body, lending their
sanction to the proceedings, and adding by their presence to the im
pressive character of the scene."
The sacrifice of decency in attending this lawless meeting,
was not the only one which the Charleston clergy offered on the
altar of slavery. The slave-holders resolved :
" That the thanks of this meeting are due to the reverend gentlemen
of the clergy in this city who have so promptly and so effectually re
sponded to the pubhc sentiment, by suspending their schools, in which
the free colored population were taught; and that this meeting deem it
a patriotic action, worthy of all praise, and proper to be imitated by
the teachers of similar schools throughout the State."
It is quite in character, that the Charleston slave-holders
should deem it a patriotic act in the ministers of the Lord Jesus
Christ to drive black children from then Sunday schools ; but
what judgment will be formed of these pusillanimous clergymen
by Him who has commanded his servants not to fear what man
can do unto them ? Most truly says the Bishop of Oxford :
" It is a time for martyrdom, and the American church has scarcely
produced a single confessor."
There is still another to be added to the formidable obstacles
already enumerated, to the conversion of the slaves. Their very
position compels them to live in constant violation of many of
the imperative obligations of Christianity.

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 477
The slave is a participator of that humanity with which the
Saviour clothed himself at his incarnation. As1 a man, therefore,
he is placed by God in various relations, imposing corresponding
duties ; as a son, he is bound to honor his parents ; as a brother,
to love his kindred, and relieve their distresses ; as a husband,
to cleave to his wife till parted by death ; as a father, to provide
for the sustenance and education of his offspring. But the law
of the land has nullified that of God, and insulates the slave
from all the relations of humanity, and abrogates the obligations
resulting from them. Yet the southern priesthood, in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, give their sanction to this law, re
ducing to chattels the very beings for whom He died. Well,
indeed, has a foreign author remarked :
"Whatever may have been the unutterable wickedness of slavery
in the West India Islands, there it never was baptized in the Redeem
er's hallowed name, and its corruptions were not concealed in the garb
of religion. That acme of piratical turpitude was reserved for the pro
fessed disciples of Jesus in America."
You flatter yourself, sir, that, could the .Bishop of Oxford
have witnessed the services at Scuppernong which you have de
scribed, his views of American slavery would have undergone"
such a total change, that he would have asked instant pardon of
the American church, for rebuking her subserviency to this ter
rific institution. Having said nothing of the church that was
not literally true, and substantiated by most abundant proof, the
bishop could have had no motive or excuse for asking pardon.
So far from having his abhorrence of slavery diminished by the
scenes on which you dwell with so much complacency, he would
have found in them new proofs of the degeneracy of the church,
and of the corrupting influence of human bondage.
With what indignation would your good brother have wit
nessed the masters bringing their fellow-men to the house of
prayer, kneeling with them at the Lord's table, partaking with
them of the emblems of the Saviour's body and blood, the next
day driving them to the field as the ox to the furrow, and per
haps the day after tearing them from their wives and children,
and selling them to the dealer in human flesh, to be conveyed to
distant markets !
41

478 jay's WORKS.
Think you, sir, the bishop would have felt very penitent for
his condemnation of slavery, had he, on leaving Scuppernong,
repaired to Wilmington, still in your diocese, and there recog
nized some of the Easter Sunday communicants among the
manacled passengers described in the following letter ?
" As I went on board the steamboat at Wilmington, I noticed eight
colored men, handcuffed and chained together in pairs, four women, and
eight or ten children — all standing together in the bow of the boat, in
charge of a man standing near them. Coming near them, I perceived
that they were all greatly agitated, and, on inquiring, I found that they
were all slaves who had been born and raised in North Carolina, and
had just been sold to a speculator, who was now taking them to the
Charleston market. Upon the shore was a number of colored persons,
women and children, waiting the departure of the boat. My attention
was particularly arrested by two colored females, who stood together
a little distance from the crowd, and upon whose countenances was
depicted the keenest sorrow. As the last bell was tolling, I saw the
tears gushing from their eyes — they were the wives of two of the men in
chains. There, too, were mothers and sisters, weeping at the depart
ure of their sons and brothers ; and there, too, were fathers, taking the
last look of their wives and children. My eye now turned to those in
the boat, and, although I had tried to control my feelings amidst my
sympathy for those on shore, I could conceal them no more, and found
myself literally weeping with those that wept. I stood near them,
when one of the husbands saw his wife on the shore wave her hand for
the last time ; his manly efforts to restrain his feelings gave way, and,
fixing his watery eyes upon her, he exclaimed, ' This is the most dis
tressing thing of all — my dear wife and children, farewell ! ' Of the
poor women on board, three of them had husbands whom they left behind.
Sailing down Cape Fear River twenty-five miles we touched at the
little village of Smithport, on the south side of the river. It was at
this place that one of the slaves lived, and here were his wife and five
children. While at work on Monday last, hispurchaser took him away
from his family, carried him in chains to Wilmington, where he re
mained in jail. As we approached the wharf, a flood of tears burst
from his eyes. The boat stopped but a moment, and, as she left, he
espied his wife on the stoop of a house some rods from the shore, and
with one hand, which was not in the handcuff, he pulled off his old
hat, and, waving it towards her, he exclaimed, ' Farewell ! ' After a
few moments' silence, conflicting passions seemed to tear open his
breast, and he exclaimed, ' What have I done, that I should suffer this?
Oh ! my wife and children — I want to live no longer ! ' " Christian
Advocate and Journal.
And is this most accursed traffic in the sheep of your flock aji
"imaginary suffering? "
Not contented with lauding the blessedness of southern sla-

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 479
very, you proceed to taunt Great Britain with her factory sys
tem, and to sneer at your brethren of the mother church for
riveting such a system on their land. A vast amount of sym
pathy is constantly expended by the dealers in human flesh on
the English poor ; and he who, without compunction, sends a
mother to market, or ploughs her back with the lash, finds his
bowels of compassion yearning over the " cruel oppressions " of
a factory child on the other side of the Atlantic !
It was the declaration of the Almighty, in reference to his
own peculiar people, " the poor shall never cease out of the
land " — a prediction virtually repeated by our Saviour, and as
literally fulfilled in regard to every other land as it was in Pal
estine. No system of government, no form of religion, has ever
caused the poor to cease out of the land. Much poverty, no
doubt, springs from bad government and wicked wars ; but a
far larger portion from the vice, improvidence, indolence, and
misfortune, incident to humanity. Owing to the corruption of
our nature, poverty often invites oppression ; which no govern
ment, however paternal, can prevent. In our own land, we have
armies of paupers, exclusive of nearly three millions of our
fellow-countrymen, who are reduced by law to absolute penury.
Yet this is the country, above all others, in which extent of ter
ritory, cheapness of land, and demand for labor, should secure,
if possible, a competency for all. Is it, then, sir, a matter of
surprise, that poverty should abound in England, where a popu
lation, nearly equal to that of the whole United States, is crowd
ed into a space less than your own diocese ? Owing to British
industry and enterprise, the wages of labor are higher in Eng
land than in any other part of Europe ; and, owing to the free
dom of the press and of the government, the English poor are
probably the least oppressed of any in the Eastern World. And
yet, of all the paupers of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it is only
over those of England that the slave-holders raise " the note of
wailing," As you thought proper to taunt the Bishop of Oxford with
" the cruel oppressions of the factory system," it might have
been expected that you would specify the oppressions to which

480 jay's WORKS.
you refer, that it might be seen whether, like the abominations
of North Carolina slavery, they were authorized by law, and
sanctioned by bishops, or proceeded solely from the cupidity
and cruelty of individuals.
It is also to be wished, that you had condescended to con
trast the English and American factory systems, that we might
know wherein we differ. Such a comparison would not proba
bly result as much to our credit as you suppose. The two
systems differ — first, in the rate of wages, arising from the dif
ference in the demand and supply of labor in the two countries ;
and, secondly, in the paternal solicitude of the British Parlia
ment to protect juvenile operatives from the avarice of their
employers, and in the utter indifference of our republican legisla
tures on the subject. You speak of English churchmen helping
to rivet the factory system on their land. It is to be regretted,
sir, that you deal so largely in generalities, and are so averse to
particular statements. How and when have English churchmen
riveted the factory system on their land ? Has any presbyter
of the Established Church lauded it as a divine institution, and
received a mitre in return, through the influence of the cotton
spinners ? Has any bishop, in a charge to his clergy, attempted
to vindicate the system against the reproaches of the Americans,
by pronouncing the sufferings of the operatives " imaginary ? "
or has he represented a cotton mill as a little heaven upon earth,
because labor was suspended in it on Good Friday, and because
some of the hands partook of the sacrament on Easter Sunday ?
It is true the English bishops, as members of the House of
Lords, have participated in the enactment of laws relating to
factories. How far such laws authorize the " cruel oppressions "
to which you refer, you do not tell us ; but something of their
character may be learned from the following official notice :
" All the clauses of the Factories Regulation Act being now in full
operation, the inspectors of factories deem it expedient, in order to re
move any doubts as to the employment of children subject to restricted
hours of labor, to issue the following Notice :
" 1. No ohild under nine years of age can be employed in any cotton,
flax, or wool factory.
" 2. No child between nine and thirteen years of age can be employed

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 481
or even allowed to remain in such factory, without the certificate of a
physician or surgeon, countersigned by a magistrate or an inspector of
factories, certifying in the form set forth in the 13th section, the
strength and appearance of such child.
" 3. No child between nine and thirteen years of age can be em
ployed in such factory, without producing weekly a schoolmaster's cer
tificate, that the child has, for two hours at least, for six out of seven
days of the week next preceding, attended his school, excepting in
cases of sickness, to be certified in such manner as such inspector may
appoint ; and in case of any holiday, and in case of absence from any
other cause allowed by such inspector, or by any justice of the peace
in the absence of the inspector.
" 4. No child between nine and thirteen years of age can be em
ployed or even allowed to remain in such factory longer than forty-
eight hours in any one week, and not more than nine hours in any one
day. " 5. No child under thirteen years of age can be employed in any
silk mill more than ten hours in one day.
" The above, and all other provisions of the Factories Regulation
Act, together with all orders and regulations issued by the inspectors,
in their several districts, under the authority of this act, must be
strictly observed, in the mills and factories subject to the said act.
Leonard Horner,
Thomas Jones Howard,
Robert S. Saunders,
Inspectors of Factories.
"Whitehall, June 22, 1836."
It was, sir, exceedingly imprudent to provoke a comparison
between the oppressions of the slave and the factory systems.
The oppressions of a system are of course such as the system
authorizes. What is the power, sir, which the slave system
authorizes you to exert over your slaves ? Chief Justice Hen
derson, of your own diocese, thus summarily answers the ques
tion : " The master has an almost absolute control over the body
and mind of his slave. The master's will is the slave's will." *
This, surely, sir, is pretty ample authority to be confided, even
to a Christian bishop. But let us descend to particulars, and
pursue the comparison which you have so rashly introduced —
let us contrast the powers vested in you, by the laws of North
Carolina, over your slave, with the powers over his operative
vested by act of Parliament in the English manufacturer.
1. You may with legal impunity offer your unoffending slave*
* 2 Devereaux's North Carolina Reports, 543.
41*

482 jay's works.
whether male or female, any insult or outrage, however gross,
not extending to life or limb.
The manufacturer is as responsible in law for an outrage
committed on his operative, as on any other person.
2. You are restricted by law, under a penalty of two hundred
dollars, from teaching your slave to read. Statutes of North
Carolina, 1830.
The manufacturer is allowed by law to give his operatives any
instruction they may please to receive ; but he can employ no
child under thirteen years of age who has not at least two hours
schooling a day for six days in the week.
3. You may flog your slave at pleasure, with or without
cause ; and if, instead of standing still under your lash, when
ordered to do so, he retreats from you, you are authorized, by a
solemn judicial decision, made in your diocese, to take up your
gun and shoot him.*
The munufacturer, for shooting his operative under similar
circumstances, would be convicted of murder, and undoubtedly
hung. 4. You axe permitted by law (Haywood's Manual, 525), to
keep your slave on one quart of com per day.
The manufacturer feeds his operative by contract, or the lat
ter provides his own food.
5. You are authorized to prevent your slave from receiving
any religious instruction, and you may also compel him to re
ceive just such as you please.
The. manufacturer can exercise no legal authority over the
conscience of his operative.
6. You may forbid your slave from seeing his wife and chil
dren, and may send him to market where and when you think
proper. The manufacturer has no similar privileges.
7. You may, at your own will and pleasure, torment your
slave by scourging, by imprisonment, by clipping his ears, by
branding him with a hot iron, by fastening an iron collar about
his neck, and by the various modes which malignity may devise.
* Case of the State vs. Man, 1 Dev. Rep., p. 263, N. Carolina, 1829.

letter to bishop ives. 483
The manufacturer is responsible to his operative, as well
as to public justice, for any personal injury he may inflict on
him. 8. You are at liberty, if your slave runs away, to pursue him
with bloodhounds ; and should he be torn by the brutes, you
would be guiltless — under the slave code.
The manufacturer, by similar conduct, would subject himself
to severe punishment.
9. You are authorized by law, if your slave absconds, and
you do not know where to find him, to gratify your vengeance
against him by offering, in the public papers, a reward for his
MURDER. The manufacturer, for such an offer in regard to his operative,
would be regarded and punished as a villain.
10. You may compel your slave to toil for you from youth till
old age, without other compensation than such food and raiment
and shelter as may be requisite to enable him to labor.
The manufacturer can obtain the services of no operative ex
cept by contract ; and the wages, whether more or less, are such
as the latter consents to accept.
11. You are the legal proprietor of every shred of property
acquired by your slave, by his own industry, by gift, by devise,
or by accident. If he picks up a" sixpence in the street, it is
YOURS. The manufacturer has no claim on his operative, except for
the labor he has agreed to render for a certain compensation.
12. The children of your female slave are your property, and
you may work, flog, or sell them, at will.
The manufacturer has no authority over the children of his
operative, except by contract with the parent, and in accordance
with the requirements of an act of Parliament.
13. You may compel your slave to toil as many hours in the
four and twenty, as his physical strength may enable him.*
The manufacturer is restrained by act of Parliament, from
exacting more than ten hours labor, for a day's work.
* The law of South Carolina is more considerate : it allows the master to
compel his slave to work only fifteen hours a day in the summer, and four
teen in winter. 2 Brevard's Digest, 243.

484 jay's works.
Verily, sir, the North Carolina Bishop's little finger is thicker
than the Englishman's loins.* But of course you only vindicate
slavery in the abstract, not its abuses. Please to recollect, sir,
that you have given your Episcopal sanction to " slavery as it
exists at the present day." This, in its most limited sense,
means slavery as at present established by law. And now, sir,
will you please to tell us what are the abuses of a legal system
which takes away an innocent man's liberty, renders him a piece
of animated merchandise, deprives him of all volition, places
him entirely at your will, denies him all the fruits of his labor,
divests him of the character of a son, a husband, and a father,
and utterly debars him from the pursuit of his own happiness ?
If in all this there is none other than "imaginary suffering,"
do let us know what you consider the " cruel oppressions of the
factory system."
Most dangerous, odious, and corrupting would be your power
over your slave, even were it intrusted to none other but a
right reverend father in god ; but, alas ! the power you
* Whole sheets, nay, a volume might be filled with illustrations of the
bishop's legal prerogatives. But it is unnecessary to cumber the page with
proofs of what he will not deny. He will not be rash enough to challenge
the writer for proofs of the alleged atrocities of the slave laws. To prevent,
however, a captious objection, it may be well to state, that, strictly, a North
Carolina slave-holder has not a legal right to offer a reward for the murder of
his slave, unless he is previously outlawed, which he may be by two justices,
if he runs away, conceals himself, and, to maintain life, kills a hog, or any
animal of the cattle kind. Haywood's Manual, p. 521.
In point of fact, it is believed these rewards are generally offered without
an outlawry ; nor is there the least reason to believe that the omission of this
formality, in killing a slave, would, in North Carolina, attract any legal ani
madversion. We give a few advertisements, from a great mass selected from
southern papers, for the purpose of showing the putrid state of public opin
ion in the slave States. These advertisements are revelations of unconscious
villany ; and their voluntary publication in the journals of the day indicates
that the atrocities they disclose are regarded by the community as in accor
dance with common usage and conventional propriety.
J. P. Ashford, in the Natchez Courier of 21st August, 1838. — " Run away, a
negro girl, called Mary ; has a small scar over her eye ; a good many teeth
missing. The letter A is branded on her cheek aji&forehead."
M. Ricks, in the Raleigh Standard (N. C), 18th July, 1838.—" Ran away,
a negro woman, and two children. A few days before she went off, I burnt
her with a hot iron, on the left side of-her face. / tried to make the letter M."
A. Ross, in " Charleston (S. C.) Courier," of 1825. — "Ran away, a negro
girl, sixteen or seventeen years of age. Lately branded on the left cheek
thus — R, and a piece taken out of he.- ear on the same side. The same letter
on the inside of her legs."
T. Engry, in the Now Orleans Bee, of 27th October, 1837  " Ran away,
negress Caroline; had on a collar with one prong turned down."

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 485
possess is, in your diocese, a vendible commodity ; and any vile,
brutal infidel, may, for a httle money, or by virtue of a gift or
devise, acquire the same tremendous legal prerogatives over
his slave, as are enjoyed by yourself.
If slavery be indeed an institution so evidently enjoying the
divine sanction, that it is presumption to pronounce it wrong,
it must be a good institution, and Christian benevolence must
require us to labor for its extension. This duty is indeed zeal
ously discharged at present by our southern brethren, but under
the exoteric plea of " extending the area of human freedom."
But why mask with a lie a work of love and mercy, which God
approves ?
There are considerations connected with the efforts of the
southern clergy to sustain slavery, which they would do well to
ponder : If the condition of the slave be, as most of them confess
it is, generally unfavorable to religious faith and personal holi
ness, then there is danger that, at the great day of account, the
blood of souls will be found on the skirts of those who have
striven to justify and to perpetuate that condition.
J. Henderson, in the Grand Gulf (Miss.) Advertiser, of 20th of August,
1838. — "Ran away, a black woman, Betsey; had an iron bar on her right
leg." J. Macoin, in the New Orleans Bee, 11th August, 1838. — " Ran away, the
negress Fanny ; had on an iron band about her neck."
T. J. De Tampert, in the Mobile Chronicle, June 15, 1838. — " Ran away, a
negro hoy, about twelve years old ; had round his neck a chain dog collar, with
De Tampert engraven on it.
Peter Campbell, in the Charleston Courier, February 26, 1836, after describ
ing two runaways, adds, " Two hundred dollars will be given for Billy, and
one hundred dollars for Pompey, if lodged in jail ; or fifty dollars for Billy's
head." W. D. Cobb, in the Newbern (N. C.) Spectator, 2d December, 1836.—" I
will give the reward of one hundred dollars for the above negroes, to be deliv
ered to me, or confined in the jail of Lenoir or Jones county, or for killing
them so that I can see them."
Durant H. Rhodes, in the Wilmington (N. C.) Advertiser, 13th July, 1838.
" Ran away, my negro man, Richard. A reward of twenty-five dollars will
be given for his apprehension, dead or alive. Satisfactory proof will only be
required of his being killed."
Enoch Foy, in the Newbern (N. C.) Spectator, 5th January, 1838.— "Ran
away, a negro man, Sampson. Should he resist in being taken, so that vio
lence is necessary to arrest him, I will not hold any person liable for damages
should the slave be killed."
J. McDonald, in the Appalachicola Gazette, 9th May, 1841, advertises
three runaway slaves, and offers one hundred and fifty dollars "to any one
who will kill the three, or fifty for either one."

486 jay's works.
Every man, without exception, when he makes the case his
own, and examines it solely by the light of nature, pronounces
slavery a sin and a curse. Now, it is very possible that many
who may~be convinced, by the labors of yourself and others,
that slavery is sanctioned by the Gospel, may also arrive at the
conclusion that a religion, thus outraging the moral sense im
planted in the human heart by the Creator, cannot proceed from
Him.* A portentous infidel philanthropy is rife in the land, false
and delusive in its professions, and tending in its consequences
to anarchy and misery. Fonnded not on the love of God, and
obedience to his commands, but on wild abstract political theo
ries, it pretends to seek the happiness of mankind by means
which can have no influence in purifying the heart, and check
ing the progress of vice. Those who watch the signs of the
times, not from the retirement of their studies, but amid the
busy haunts of men, know that the conduct of many of the
clergy has given to this spurious philanthropy a mighty and
most disastrous impulscf They are constantly seen tithing
mint, and anise, and cummin, and all manner of herbs, while
mercy and justice, so far as regards the colored population, are
apparently utterly disregarded by them. The public has wit
nessed a reverend assembly of divines discussing day after day
the sinfulness of marrying the sister of a deceased wife, and at
* Said Mr. Fries, on the floor of Congress, in reference to a southern
member who had attempted a biblical vindication of slavery : " I wish it to
be distinctly understood by my constituents and the country, if it (Ameri
can slavery) is proved to be a divine institution, sanctioned by the word of
God, I AM an infidel ; but gentlemen must pardon me, if I do not adopt
their construction of the Bible on this point."
f This truth is admitted and deplored in a late publication by the Rev.
Mr. Patton, of Hartford, Conn., entitled,." Pro-Slavery Interpretations of
the Bible productive of Infidelity." Says the reverend author, " Infidels
profess to go for a reformation in morals, and they boldly contend that
Christianity is the chief obstacle in the way of success. They declare that
the church and the Bible are corrupt on the score of morals, and that so far
from an argument being derived from that quarter in favor of Christianity,
the very reverse is true ;" and he quotes the following avowal made by an
infidel at a recent convention of free-thinkers in New York : " I have done
with the old arguments against Christianity, and have adopted a more effi
cient plan. Now, I work altogether through the moral reformations of the
day, and through them attack religion, and find I can accomplish more than
by any other means,"

LETTER TO BISHOP IVES. 487
last deposing from the ministry a brother who had committed
the offence. Yet had this same brother bought another man's
wife, used her as his beast of burden, tore from her her chil
dren as they became fit for market, and finally disposed of her
to some trafficker in human flesh, no ecclesiastical censure
would have fallen upon him, and he would have been freely
welcomed to the pulpits of the very men who deposed him.
We have had pastoral admonitions against dancing, and sermons
in abundance in -favor of human bondage ; nay, right reverend
fathers in God proclaim, that " no man nor set of men in our
day, unless they can produce a new revelation from Heaven,
are entitled to pronounce slavery wrong," and that " slavery as
it exists at the present day is agreeable to the order of Divine
Providence." We have Bible Societies for supplying the desti
tute, and our churches and halls resound with eulogiums on the
sacred volume, but scarcely a solitary minister at the South is
known to suggest, that possibly the laws which virtually forbid
one-half of the population to read the Bible, may not be acceptable
to its Divine Author, while the Bible society of the largest city
in the South disclaims all intention of giving Bibles to slaves.
Great discussions as well as heats are excited by the question
whether the word baptize or immerse shall be inserted in Bibles
intended for heathen in Asia, but the most profound apathy is
evinced on the question whether any Bible at all shall be given
to the " nation of heathen in our very midst." Missionaries are
sent to the ends of the earth, but to three millions of our own
countrymen groaning in bondage, and sunk in ignorance, is given
only a little " oral instruction," and of that little, no small por
tion is confined to the duty of obedience, and the sin of running
away. Much is said of the importance of a learned ministry, and
contributions are solicited from the pious, to found and maintain
theological seminaries. Yet no sooner does a candidate for
holy orders apply for the instruction thus provided, than rever
end and right reverend trustees proceed to inspect the tincture
of his skin, and unless it rises to the othodox standard, the door
of the seminary is shut in his face. We have in certain quar-

488 jay's WORKS.
ters, line upon line, and precept upon precept, on the necessity,
the importance, the dignity of apostolic succession. But when
this " heavenly gift of ministerial commission," is borne by an
ambassador of Christ not colored like themselves, bishops and
presbyters are seen treating the " heavenly gift " with contume
ly, rarely if ever admitting the possessor into their pulpits, and
scornfully and lawlessly refusing him a seat in the council of
the church.
We have among us, a poor, ignorant, persecuted, but unof
fending people. They are the least of Christ's brethren, and as
such, are specially commissioned by him to receive in his be
half the tokens of our love and gratitude. Are we taught by
our pastors thus to regard them ? Does the noisy demagogue,
prating about equal rights and universal suffrage, find no apolo
gy for giving the lie to his professions, and trampling upon his
colored fellow citizens, in the conduct of the Church herself ?
Will those who drive from the schools of the prophets, youths
anxious to qualify themselves for the service of our common
Lord, venture to rebuke the inhumanity of the proprietors of
our stage-coaches, our packets, and our railroads, for excluding
from their conveyances, these unhappy people, however decent
their deportment, and however urgent their business ? The
Jews despised the Samaritans, and were too proud to receive at
their hands even a cup of water. But the Saviour, disregard
ing an unholy although popular prejudice, ate and drank and
lodged with them ; declared to them his divine mission, and in
his inimitable parable, selected one of them as an illustration of
the great law of love, to the condemnation of the proud and
heartless but orthodox Priest and Levite.
Surely it is not surprising that the efforts of so large a por
tion of the Christian ministry to sanctify slavery and caste,
should give great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blas
pheme, and to His friends for grief and perplexity. No small
number of those friends, failing to make due allowance for the
frailty of our fallen nature, and forgetting the trials arising from
the dependence of the clergy on popular support, have rashly
and weakly imagined, that the influence of the church is neces-

letter to bishop ives. 489
sarily adverse to an enlarged and practical application of the
benevolent precepts of the Gospel. Hence they have unhappily
indulged the vain expectation that they could cherish more
freely the benign impulses of Christianity when released from
the restraints of ecclesiastical organizations. Such men, by
gradually neglecting the appointed means of grace, have made
shipwreck of their faith, and listening to the voice of the charm
er, and deluding themselves with the belief that they were
doing God service, have united with demagogues, scoffers, and
infidels in unholy and chimerical schemes of expansive benevo
lence. It may well be questioned, how far those who by the most
solemn vows have dedicated themselves to the service of the
sanctuary, can lawfully confine then- time and labor to the re
moval of any one moral or political evil. They are to declare
the whole counsel of God, and to watch over and feed the flocks
entrusted to their charge. But the ministers of Christ are
faithless to their high and holy mission, when in the name of
their Master, they give their assent to injustice and cruelty
and oppression ; and by their own example, teach their people to
despise the poor and helpless. The great Head of the Church
has warned us against that fear of man which bringeth a snare?
and demands that his ambassadors shall deliver his message of
mercy and love, regardless alike of the displeasure of such as
are in high places, and of the scoffs and clamor of the Godless
multitude. The tree is known by its fruits, and that is not the
religion of the Gospel which fails to inculcate glory to God,
and peace and good will to men.
December, 1846. 42

ADDRESS
TO THE INHABITANTS OF NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA, ON
THE OMISSION BY CONGRESS TO PROVIDE THEM WITH
TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS, AND ON THE SO
CIAL AND POLITICAL EVILS OF SLAVERY.

Friends and Felow Countrymen :
A number of citizens interested in your welfare, and anxious
to promote your prosperity, have deputed us to address you in
the present crisis of your affairs. It may be in our power to
communicate to you facts with which you are not familiar, and
to offer you considerations deserving your reflection. We there
fore solicit your patient and dispassionate attention.
You complain that since your annexation to the United States,
you have been denied the protection and advantages of civil
government. Your complaint is well-founded, and the solemn
promises made to you in the name of the Federal Government
have been most flagrantly violated. Pains have been and will be
taken to deceive you as to the persons who have, in denying you
a government, been regardless alike of your rights and your in
terests. Permit us first to remind you of the solemn and ofiicial
pledges made to you, and then to show you by whom, and from
what motives, those pledges have been broken.
On the 7th July, 1846, Commodore Sloat landed at Monterey,

492 jay's works.
and taking possession of Cahfornia by right of conquest, declared
in his proclamation addressed to the inhabitants :
" Henceforth California will be a portion of the United States, and
its peaceable inhabitants will enjoy the same rights and privileges as
the citizens of any other portion of that territory, with all the rights
and privileges they now enjoy, together with the privilege of choosing
their own magistrates and other officers, for the administration of jus
tice among themselves."
On the 17th August of the same year, E. F. Stockton, " Gov
ernor of the territory of Cahfornia," by proclamation thus con
firmed the promise given by Commodore Sloat :
" The territory of California now belongs to the United States, and
will be governed as soon as circumstances may permit by officers and
laws similar to those by which ihe other territories of ihe United States'
are regulated and protected."
General Kearney succeeded Stockton as Governor, and on
the 1st of March, 1847, addressed a proclamation to the inhabi
tants, in which, avowedly under instructions from the President,
he declared :
" It is the wish and intention of the United States to procure for Cal
ifornia, as speedily as possible, a free government like that of their own
territories, and they will very soon invite the inhabitants to exercise
the rights of free citizens, with the choice of their own representatives,
who may enact such laws as they may deem best adapted to their own
interests and well-being."
The people of New Mexico were in like manner assured by
Gen. Kearney on the 18th August, 1846, in a proclamation is
sued by him at Sante Fe :
" It is the wish and intention of the United States to provide for
New Mexico a free government with the least possible delay, similar to
those in the United States, and the people of New Mexico will then be
called to exercise the rights of freemen in electing their own represen
tatives to the territorial government."
Such were the full and explicit pledges given to the people of
both provinces. They were to have territorial legislatures, and
elect their own representatives. But perhaps these pledges were

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 493
unauthorized by the Cabinet at Washington. Unhappily for
the faith and honor of -the Federal Government, such a supposi
tion is refuted by the instructions given to Gen. Kearney, dated
at Washington, 3d June, 1846:
" Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Cal
ifornia, you may assure the people of those provinces that it is the -vvish
and design of the United States to provide for them a free government
with the least possible delay, similar to that which exists in our Territo
ries. They will then be called to exercise ike rights of freemen in elect
ing their own representatives to ihe territorial legislature."
How have these solemn and repeated pledges been redeemed ?
In December, 1847, the President recommended Congress to
provide for the adjoining territory of Oregon a territorial govern
ment, adding that the people "should have the right of suffrage,
be represented in a territorial legislature, and by a delegate in
Congress." This then by his own pledges was the model of the
government to be provided for you ; yet no such recommendation
was ever made by him in regard to you. Slave-holders intended
to move into your territory with their slaves, and slave-breeders
were anxious to open for their stock new markets on your soil.
But it was known that you were averse to human bondage, and
if intrusted with the promised powers of self-government, those
powers would be exercised in behalf of human rights. Hence
it was determined, in utter contempt of all the pledges made to
you, to keep you in a state of vassalage, until slavery had been
irrevocably fastened upon you. Three territories, Oregon, New
Mexico, and California, were to be organized. In the first of
these, the people had already formed a provisional government,
and had had the wisdom and virtue to prohibit slavery. Of this
territory, the slave-holders had no hope of gaining possession ;
their designs were centered on the other two. To facilitate
those designs, the Senate, consisting one-half of slave-holders,
by the aid and treachery of a few northern members passed a
bill (July 22, 1848) for the organization of the three territories.
By this bill, such a government was given to Oregon as had
been promised to you. The people were invested with the right
of suffrage, and a territorial legislature was established, consist-
42*

494 jay's works.
ing of representatives chosen by the inhabitants. To New Mex
ico and California were assigned despotic governments, exercised
by officers named by the President, while the people of the
two territories were as totally excluded from all participation in
the choice of rulers and the enactment of laws, as the negro
slaves of South Carolina. Not a ballot-box was to be seen
throughout the whole extent of the new territories. Thus did
the President and his partisans redeem the pledges made to you
through Sloat, Stockton, and Kearney. Your northern friends
in the House of Representatives refused to sanction this base
perfidy, and rejected the bill. Do you complain that you were
thus deprived of a government to be administered by the Pres
ident's delegates, a government in which you had no part or lot,
a government which falsified the pledges given you, which in
sulted- and degraded you by treating you as a conquered and
servile race, while all the privileges of American citizens promr
ised to you were given in full measure to your neighbors ? No,
you feel and acknowledge the protecting care of your friends
and will see in their, rejection of this base attempt to cheat and
humble you, an earnest of their future devotion to your best in
terests. But justice to Oregon required that she should not be
left without a government merely because the slave-holders wished
to wrong you. The House of Representatives therefore passed
a separate bill, establishing a territorial government for that ter
ritory, and in compliance with the wish of the inhabitants in
serted in it a clause securing them forever from the curse of
slavery. This bill became a law at the end of the session, but
the President, on affixing his signature to it, made a declaration
in writing that he would have vetoed a similar bill for you !
Regardless of this insulting announcement, the House of Rep
resentatives early the next session prepared two separate bills,
giving a territorial government to New Mexico and California,
in conformity with the previous pledges, and similar in its pro
visions to that given to Oregon, and protecting the two terri
tories from slavery. For want of time, only the bill for California
was passed. It was sent to the Senate, and that body by a
formal vote refused even to take it into consideration ! On the

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 495
13th of December, the petition from the people of New Mexico,
praying for a territorial government, and to be protected from
slavery, was presented to the Senate. Mr. Calhoun, the leader
of the slave-holders, instantly denounced it as " disrespectful and
most insolent," and the petitioners were spoken of as "a con
quered people."
At the close of the session the usual appropriation bill pro
viding for the expenses of the Federal Government was passed
by the House of Representatives. The slave-holders now thought
they had an opportunity of coercing your friends into a sacrifice
of your interests. A clause was added to the bill extending the
Constitution and laws of the United States over the two territo
ries, and vesting in the President unlimited powers of gov
ernment, and the appointment of officers at his discretion. It
mattered not that all this was in contemptuous violation of the
pledges given you. A purpose was to be served. By the
acknowledged laws of nations, a conquered people retain their own
laws till altered by the new sovereign. Your laws prohibiting
slavery had not been repealed by the conquest. It was con
tended that the extension of the Constitution and laws of ihe
United States over the two territories would virtually repeal the
existing laws, and thus open the door for the establishment of
negro slavery among you. The Joss of the appropriation bill
would throw the whole fiscal affairs of the government into
confusion. The debts due to individuals would be suspended.
Salaries would remain unpaid, &c, &c. It was hoped your
friends would shrink from the responsibility of causing such
wide-spread disorder by rejecting the bill on account of the ob
noxious clause outraging your rights. Yet your interests required
that some government should be established for you, and almost
any temporary government was better than none. The House
had in vain attempted to give you a proper one, and to preserve
you from anarchy, they accepted the miserable substitute pro
vided by the slave-holders, but defeated the object for which
that substitute had been contrived, by adding a clause recogniz
ing and continuing in force your existing laws. On this the
Senate abandoned their plan, passed the appropriation bill

496 Jay's works.
securing their own pay, and adjourned, leaving you a prey to
anarchy. Soon after the adjournment, Mr. Foote, one of the senators
devoted to the extension of slavery, published an article declar
ing that he was " authorized to say " that if the amendment
recognizing your existing laws had been agreed to, " it would
inevitably have defeated the civil and diplomatic appropriation
bill, as President Polk had already in part prepared his veto to
the bill ! "
The slave power has resolved that you shall have no govern
ment but such as shall establish the dominion of the whip.
From a dominion so loathsome and blighting, your northern
friends have hitherto rescued you ; and to explain their motives,
and to invite your earnest cooperation, we now proceed to lay
before you a statement of some of the moral and political evils
experienced in the United States from the same accursed insti
tution with which you are threatened. Never have the com
parative influences of free and slave labor on public prosperity
and happiness been more fairly tested, or more certainly decided
than in this country. Of the thirty States composing our Union,
fifteen maintain and enforce, and fifteen reject and abhor the
principle of property in men, women and children. By ponder
ing the facts we are about to present, you will be enabled to
judge whether your northern friends in the course they have
pursued have consulted or sacrificed your true interests.
Slavery is an institution exclusively for the rich. We might
as well talk of poor men owning herds of cattle and studs of
horses, as gangs of negroes. When an infant will bring a
hundred, a woman four or five hundred, and a man from eight
hundred to a thousand dollars, slaves are not commodities to be
found in the cabins of the poor. There is also a peculiarity in
slave labor that necessarily confines it to the wealthy. The
women and children, being property, must be owned together
with the male laborers. Hence it is almost impossible to find a
master who is the possessor of only a single slave. Our last
census shows that the two sexes among the slaves are about
equal in number, and that there are two children under ten

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 497
years of age for every male above that age. Hence if a planter
owns three men, we may take it for granted that his slave family
consists of at least twelve persons, viz., three men, three women,
and six children. It has been ascertained by various statistics
that the whole number of slave-holders in the United States is
probably less than 248,000, not one-third oi the adult white
male population of the United States. Yet this small body of
men engross the greater portion of the land and wealth of the
slave region, forming in fact a powerful feudal aristocracy, pos
sessing nearly three millions of serfs, and governing and oppress
ing at pleasure the rest of the population. They are always
banded together for the preservation and extension of their own
power, and always, for obvious reasons, endeavoring to identify
their private interests with the public welfare. In what man
ner that welfare is promoted by their guardianship, we will now
show you. 1. INCREASE OF POPULATION.
The ratio of increase of population, especially in this country,
is one of the surest tests of public prosperity. Let us then here
examine the impartial testimony of the late census. From this
we learn that the increase of population in the free States from
1830 to 1840, was at the rate of thirty-eight per cent., while the
increase of the free population in the slave States was only
twenty-three per cent. Why this difference of fifteen in the
two ratios ? No other cause can be assigned than slavery, which
drives from their borders many of the virtuous and enterprising,
and at the same time deters emigrants from other States and
from foreign countries from settling among them.
The influence of slavery on population is strikingly illustrated
by a comparison between Kentucky and Ohio. These two
States are of nearly equal areas, Kentucky, however, having
about 3000 square miles more than the other.* They are sep
arated only by a river, and are both remarkable for the fertility
of their soil; but one has, from the beginning, been cursed with
* American Almanac for 1843, p. 206.

498 jay's works.
slavery, and the other blessed with freedom. Now mark their
respective careers.
In 1792, Kentucky was erected into a State, and Ohio in
1802. Free population of Kentucky. Free population of Ohio.
1790,  61,227,  A wilderness.
J800,  180,612,  45,365
1810,  325,950,  230,760
1820,  437,585,  581,434
1830,  522,704,  937,903
1840,  597,570,  1,519,467
The representation of the two States in Congress, has been
as follows : Kentucky. Ohio.
' 1802,  6,  1
1812,  9,  6
1822,  12,  14
1832,  13,  ••¦ 19
1842,  10,  21
The value of land, other things being equal, is in proportion
to the density of the population. Now the population of Ohio
is 38.8 to a square mile, while the free population of Kentucky
is but 14.2 to a square mile — and probably the price of land in
the two States is much in the same proportion. We are told,
much of the wealth is invested in negroes — yet it obviously is
a wealth that impoverishes ; and no stronger evidence of the
truth of this assertion is needed, than the comparative price of
land in the free and slave States. The two principal cities of
Kentucky and Ohio are Louisville and Cincinnati ; the former
with a population of 21,210, the latter with a population of
46,338. Why this difference ? The question is answered by
the Louisville Journal. The editor, speaking of the two rivial
cities, remarks :
"The most potent cause of the more rapid advancement of Cincin
nati than Louisville is the absence of slavery. The same influ
ences which made Ohio the young giant of the West, and is advancing
Indiana to a grade higher than Kentucky, have operated in the Queen
City. They have no dead weight to carry, and consequently have the
advantage in the race."

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 499
In 1840, Mr. C. M. Clay, a member of the Kentucky Legisla
ture, published a pamphlet against the repeal of the law prohib
iting the importation of slaves from the other States. We
extract the following :
" The world is teaming with improved machinery, the combined
development of science and art. To us it is all lost; we are compara
tively living in centuries that are gone ; we cannot make it, we cannot
use it when made. Ohio is many years younger, and possessed of fewer
advantages than our State. Cincinnati has manufactories to sustain
her ; last year she put up one thousand houses. Louisville, with supe
rior natural advantages, as all the world knows, wrote ' to rent,' upon
many of her houses. Ohio is a free State, Kentucky a slave
State." Mr. Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, in a pamphlet pub
lished the same year, and on the same subject, draws the follow
ing comparison between Virginia and New York :
"In 1790, Virginia, with 70,000 square miles of territory, contained
a population of 749,308. New York, upon a surface of 45,658 square
miles, contained a population of 344,120. This statement exhibits in
favor of Virginia a difference of 24,342 square miles of territory, and
405,188 in population, which is the double of New York, and 68,600
more. In 1830, after a race of forty years, Virginia is found To con
tain 1,211,405 souls, and New York 1,918,608, which exhibits a differ
ence in favor of New York of 707,203. The increase on the part of
Virginia will be perceived to be 462,097, starting from a basis more
than twice as large as that of New York The increase of New
York, upon a basis of 344,120, has been 1,574,488 human beings.
Virginia has increased in a ratio of 61 per cent., and New York in
that of 566 per cent.
" The total amount of property in Virginia under the assessment of
1838, was $211,930,508. The aggregate value of real and personal
property iri New York, in 1839, was $654,000,000, exhibiting an excess
in New York over Virginia of capital of $442,069,492.
" Statesmen may differ about policy, or the means to be employed
in the promotion of the public good, but surely they ought to be agreed
as to what prosperity means. I think there can be no dispute that
New York is a greater, richer, a more prosperous and powerful State
than Virginia. What has occasioned the difference ? . ...
There is but one explanation of the facts I have shown. The clog that
has stayed the march of her people, the incubus that has weighed down
her enterprise, strangled her commerce, kept sealed her exhaustless
fountains of mineral wealth, and paralyzed her arts, manufactures and
improvement, is NEGRO SLAVERY."

500 jay's works.
These statements were made before the results of the last
census were known. By the census of 1840, it appears that in
the ten preceding years,
The population of Virginia has increased  28,392
In the same time the population of N. Y. increased  710,413
The rate of increase in Virginia was  2.3 per cent.
" " New York,.  33.7 »
Virginia has 12.5 free inhabitants to a square mile.
New York 52.7 " " « '<
In 1790, Massachusetts, with Maine, had hut 378,717 inhabitants,
" Maryland,  3I9r728 "
In 1840, Massachusetts alone,  737,699 "
" Maryland,  469,232 "
Now let it be recollected that Maryland is nearly double the
size of Massachusetts. In the last there are 98.3 free inhabi
tants to the square mile ; in the former only 27.2.
If we turn to the new States, we find that slavery and free
dom have the same influence on population as in the old. Take,
for instance, Michigan and Arkansas. They came into the
Union about the same time.
In 1830, the population of Arkansas was  30 388
In 1840, « »  97^574
In 1830, " Michigan,  31,639
Inl840, " «  212,267
The ratio of increase of white inhabitants, for the last ten
years, has been in Arkansas as 200" per cent. ; in Michigan, 574
per cent. In both instances the increase has been chjefly owing
to emigration ; but the ratio shows the influence of slavery in
retarding emigration. Compare also Alabama and Illinois.
In 1830, the free population of Alabama, was  191,975
Illinois,  157,455

Excess in lavor of Alabama,  34 520
In 1840, free population of Illinois,  476,183
" " " Alabama,  337^224
Excess in favor of Illinois,  138 959

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 501
We surely need not detain you with further details on this
head, to convince you what an enormous sacrifice of happiness
and prosperity is now offered on the altar of slavery. But of
the character and extent of this sacrifice you have as yet had
only a partial glimpse. Let us proceed to examine,
2. THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN THE SLAVE STATES.
The maxim that "knowledge is power," has ever more or
less influenced the conduct of aristocracies. Education elevates
the inferior classes of society, teaches them their rights, and
points out the means of enforcing them. Of course, it tends to
diminish the influence of wealth, birth, and rank. In 1671, Sir
William Berkley, then Governor of Virginia, in his answer to
the inquiries of the Committee of the Colonies, remarked, " I
thank God that there arc no free schools nor printing presses,
and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." The
spirit of Sir William seems still to preside in the councils of his
own Virginia, and to actuate those of the other slave States.
The power of the slave-holders, as we have already shown
you, depends on the acquiescence of the major part of the white
inhabitants in their domination. It cannot be, therefore, the
interest or the inclination of the sagacious and reflecting among
them, to promote the intellectual improvement of the inferior
class. In the free States, on the contrary, where there is no caste
answering to your slave-holders — where the people literally
partake in the government, mighty efforts are made for general
education; and in most instances, elementary instruction is,
through the public liberality, brought within the reach of the
children of the poor. Lamentable experience proves that such
is not the case where slave-holders bear rule.
The last census gives us the number of white persons over
twenty years of age in each State, who cannot read and write.
It appears that these persons are to the whole white population
in the several States as follows, viz. :
43

502

JAY'S WORKS.

Connecticut,
Vermont, 
New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, ¦ •
Maine, 
Michigan, 
Rhode Island, • ¦ ¦
New Jersey,
New York, 
Pennsylvania, • • ¦
Ohio, 
Indiana, 
Illinois, 

to every 568 Louisiana,- • • •
" 472 Maryland, • • •
" 310 Mississippi, •• •
" 166 Delaware, 
" 108 S. Carolina, • •
" 97 Missouri, 
" 67 Alabama, 
" 58 Kentucky, • • •
" 56 Georgia, 
" 50 Virginia, 
" 43 Arkansas,
" 18 Tennessee, • • •
1 7 N. Carolina, • •

to every 38 1-2
" 27
" 20
18
17
" 16
" 15
" 13 1-2
" 13
" 121-2
" 11 1-2
" 11
" 7*

It will be observed by looking at this table, that Indiana and
Illinois are the only free States, which in point of education are
surpassed by any of the slave States : for this disgraceful cir
cumstance three causes may be assigned, viz., their recent set
tlement, the influx of foreigners, and emigration from the slave
States. The returns from New York, Rhode Island, New Jer
sey and Pennsylvania, are greatly affected by the vast number
of foreigners congregated in their cities, and employed- in their
manufactories and on their public works. In Ohio, also, there
is a large foreign population ; and it is well known that com
paratively few emigrants from Europe seek a residence in the
slave States, where there is little or no employment to invite them.
But what a commentary on slavery and slave-holders is afforded
by the gross ignorance prevailing in the old States of South
Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina ! But let us proceed.
The census gives a return of " scholars at public charge."
Of these, there are in the free States,  432,173
" " slave States,  35,580
Ohio alone has 51,812 such scholars, — more than are to be
found in the 13 slave States ! Her neighbor Kentucky has
429 ! ! Let us compare in this particular the largest and the
smallest State in the Union.
Virginia has scholars at public charge  9,791
Rhode Island  10,912f
* This summary from the return of the census, is copied from the Rich
mond (Va.) Compiler.
t See American Almanac for 1842, page 226.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 503
But we have some official confessions, which give a still more
deplorable account of southern ignorance. In 1837, Governor
Clarke, in his message to the Kentucky Legislature, remarked,
" By the computation of those most familiar with the subject,
ONE THIRD OF THE ADULT POPULATION OF THE STATE ARE
UNABLE TO WRITE THEIR NAMES."
Governor Campbell reported to the Virginia Legislature, that
from the returns of 98 clerks, it appeared that of 4,614 applica
tions for marriage licenses in 1837, no less than 1,047 were made
by men unable to write.
These details will enable you to estimate the impudence of the
following plea in behalf of slavery :
" It is by the existence of slavery, exempting so large a portion of
our citizens from the necessity of bodily labor, that we have leisure
for intellectual pursuits, and the means of attaining a liberal education."
Chancellor Harper, of South Carolina, on Slavery. Southern Literary
Messenger, Oct. 1838.
Whatever may be the leisure enjoyed by the slave-holders,
they are careful not to afford the means of literary improvement
to their fellow-citizens who are too poor to possess slaves, and
who are, by their very ignorance, rendered more fit instruments
for doing the will, and guarding the human property of the
wealthier class. 3. INDUSTRY AND ENTERPRISE.
In a community so unenlightened as that of the slave States,
it is a matter of course that the arts and sciences must languish,
and the industry and enterprise of the country be oppressed by
a general torpor. Hence multitudes will be without regular and
profitable employment, and be condemned to poverty and num
berless privations. The very advertisements in the newspapers
show that, for a vast proportion of the comforts and conveniences
of life, they are dependent on northern manufactures and me
chanics. Slavery has rendered labor disgraceful ; and where
this is the case, industry is necessarily discouraged. The great
staph? of the South is cotton ; and we have no desire to under-

504 jay's WORKS.
value its importance. It is, however, worthy of remark, that
its cultivation affords a livelihood to only a small proportion of
the free inhabitants ; and scarcely to any of those we are now
addressing. Cotton is the product of slave labor, and its profits
at home are confined almost exclusively to the slave-holders.
Yet on account of this article, we hear frequent vaunts of the
agricultural riches of the South. With the exception of cotton,
it is difficult to distinguish your agricultural products arising from
slave, and from free labor. But admitting, what we know is
not the fact, that all the other productions of the soil are raised
exclusively by free labor, we learn from the census, that the
agricultural products of the North exceed those of the South,
cotton excepted, $226,219,714. Here then we have an appall
ing proof of the paralyzing influence of slavery on the industry
of the whites.
In every community a large portion of the inhabitants are
debarred from drawing their maintenance directly from the cul
tivation of the earth. Other and lucrative employments are
reserved for them. If the slave-holders chiefly engross the soil,
let us see how you are compensated by the encouragement af
forded to mechanical skill and industry.
In 1839, the Secretary of the Treasury reported to Congress,
that the tonnage of vessels built in the United States was
120,988 ; built in the slave States and Territories, 23,600, or
less than one-fifth of the whole ! But the difference is still
more striking, when we take into consideration the comparative
value of the shipping built in the two regions :
In the free States the value is  $6,311,805
In the slave States,  704,291*
It would be tedious and unprofitable to compare the results of
the different branches of manufacture carried on at the North
and at the South. It is sufficient to state that, according to the
census, the value of the manufactures
In the free States is  $334,139,690
In the slave States  83,935,742
* See American Almanac for 1843, page 153,

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 505
Having already compared Ohio and Kentucky in reference to
population and education, we will pursue the comparison as to
_ agricultural and mechanical industry. On account of contiguity,
and similarity of extent,, soil and climate, no two States can
perhaps be so aptly contrasted for the purpose of illustrating the
influence of slavery. It should also be borne in mind that
Kentucky can scarcely be called a cotton State, having in 1840
raised only 607,456 pounds of that article. Hence the deficiency
of agriculture and other products in Kentucky arises, not from
a peculiar species of cultivation, but solely from the withering
effects of slavery. Ohio. Kentucky.
Wool,  3,685,315 lbs.  1,786,842
Wheat,  16,571,661 bushels  5,803,152
Hay,  1,022,037 tons  88,306
Fulling Mills,  205  5
Printing-offices,  159  34
Tanneries,  862  387
Commercial houses 1 no
in foreign trade, J ''" 
^WaXedr } " ' "*875'731  ^>™
In one species of manufacture the South apparently excels
the North, but unquestionably it is in appearance only. Of
9,657 distilleries in the United States, no less than 7,665 were
found in the slave States and Territories ; but for want of skill
and capital, these yield 1,992 gallons less than the other.
Where there is so much ignorance and idleness, we may well
suppose that the inventive faculties will be but httle exercised ;
and accordingly we find that of the 545 patents granted for new
inventions in 1846, only 80 were received by the citizens of the
slave States. We have thus offered to. our readers the testi
mony of figures, as to the different state of society under free
dom and slavery ; suffer us now to present you pictures of the
two regions, drawn not by abolitionists, but by southern artists,
in unguarded hours. Mr. Clowney, of South Carolina, thus
portrayed his native State, in the ardor of debate on the floor
of Congress: 43*

506 jay's works.
"Look at South Carolina now, with her houses deserted and failing
to decay ; her once fruitful fields worn out and abandoned for want of
timely improvement or skilful cultivation ; and her thousands of acres
of inexhaustible lands, still promising an abundant harvest to the in
dustrious husbandman, lying idle and neglected. In the interior of the
State where I was born, and where I now five, although a country pos
sessing all the advantages of soil, climate, and health, abounding in
arable land, unreclaimed from the first rude state of nature, there can
now be found many neighborhoods where the population is too sparse
to support a common elementary school for children. Such is the de
plorable condition of one of the oldest members of this Union, that
dates back its settlement more than a century and a half, while other
States, born as it were but yesterday, already surpass what Carolina is
or ever has been, in the happiest and proudest day of her prosperity."
This gentleman chose to attribute the decline of South Caro
lina to the tariff, rather than to the obvious cause, that one-half
of the people of South Carolina are poor, ignorant, degraded
slaves, and the other half suffering in all their faculties and
energies, from a moral pestilence which they insanely regard as
a blessing and not a curse. Surely it is not owing to the tariff,
that this ancient member of the Union has 20,615 white citizens
over twenty years of age who do not know their letters ; while
Maine, with double her population, has only 3,241.
Now look upon a very different picture. Mr. Preston, of South
Carolina, not long since delivered a speech at Columbia in ref
erence to a proposed railroad. In this speech, in order to stim
ulate the efforts of the friends of the road, he indulged in the
following strain :
" No southern man can journey (as he had lately done) through the
Northern States, and witness the prosperity, the industry, the public
spirit which they exhibit — the sedulous cultivation of all those arts
by which life is rendered comfortable and respectable — without feel
ings of deep sadness and shame as he remembers his own neglected and
desolate home. There, no dwelling is to be seen abandoned — not a
farm uncultivated. Every person and every thing performs a part
towards the grand result ; and the whole land is covered with fertile
fields, with manufactories, and canals, and railroads, and edifices, and
towns, and cities. We of the South are mistaken in the character of
these people, when we think of them only as peddlers in horn flints and
bark nutmegs. Their energy and enterprise are directed to all objects
great and small within their reach. The number of railroads and other
modes of expeditious intercommunication knit the whole country into
a closely compacted mass, through which the productions of commerce
and of the press, the comforts of life, and the means of knowledge, are

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 507
universally diffused ; while the close intercourse of travel and of busi
ness makes all neighbors, and promotes a common interest and a com
mon sympathy. How different the condition of these things at the
South ! Here the face of the country wears the aspect of premature
old age and decay. No improvement is seen going on, nothing is
done for posterity. No man thinks of anything beyond the present
moment." Yet this same Mr. Preston, thus sensitively alive to the supe
rior happiness and prosperity of the free States, declared in the
United States Senate,
" Let an abolitionist come within the borders of South Carolina, if
we can catch we will try him, and notwithstanding all the interference
of all the governments of the earth, including the Federal Govern
ment, we will hang him."*
In other words, the slave-holders, rather than part with their
slaves, are ready to murder, with all the formalities of law,
the very men who are laboring to confer on them the envied
blessings of the North.
4. FEELINGS OF THE SLAVE-HOLDERS TOWARDS THE
LABORING CLASSES.
Whenever the great mass of the laboring population of a
country are reduced to beasts of burden, and toil under the lash,
" bodily labor," as Chancellor Harper expresses it, must be dis
reputable, from the mere influence of association. Hence it is
that white laborers at the South are styled " mean whites." At
the North, on the contrary, labor is regarded as the proper and
commendable means of acquiring wealth ; and our most influ
ential men would in no degree suffer in public estimation, for
holding the plough, or even repairing the highways. Hence no
poor man is deterred from seeking a livehhood by honest labor
from a dread of personal degradation. The different light in
which labor is viewed at the North and the South is one cause
of the depression of industry in the latter.
* We are well aware that Mr. Preston has denied, what no one asserted,
that he had said an abolitionist, if he came into South Carolina, would be ex
ecuted by Lynch law. He used the words we have quoted. (See "New York
Journal of Commerce," Jan. 6th, 1838.)

508 jay's WORKS.
Another cause is the ever-wakeful jealousy of the aristocracy.
They fear the people ; they are alarmed at the very idea of
power and influence being possessed by any portion of the com
munity not directly interested in slave property. Visions of
emancipation, of agrarianism, and of popular resistance to their
authority, are ever floating in their distempered and excited im
aginations. They know their own weakness, and are afraid you
should know it also. Henee it is their policy to keep down the
" mean whites." Hence their philippics against the lower classes.
Hence their constant comparison of the laborers of the North,
with their own slaves ; and hence, in no small degree, the absence
among them of those institutions which confer upon the poor
that knowledge which is power. Do you deem these assertions
uncharitable ? Listen to their own declarations :
" We believe the servitude which prevails in the South far prefer
able to that of the North, or in Europe. Slavery will exist in all com
munities. There is a class which may be nominally free, but they will
be virtually slaves." Mississippian, July 6th, 1838.
" Those who depend on their daily labor for their daily subsistence
can never enter into political affairs ; they never do, never will, never
can." B. W. Leigh in Virginia Convention, 1829.
"All society settles down into a classification of capitalists and labor
ers. The former will own the latter, either collectively through the
government, or individually in a state of domestic servitude, as exists
in the Southern States of this confederacy. If laborers ever obtain
the political power of a country, it is in fact in a state of revolution.
The capitalists north of Mason and Dixon's line, have precisely the
same interest in the labor of the country, that the capitalists of England
have in their labor. Hence it is that they must have a strong federal
government (!) to control the labor of the nation. But is precisely the
reverse with us. We have already not only a right to the proceeds
of our laborers, but we own a class of laborers themselves. But let
me say to gentlemen who represent the great class of capitalists in the
North — beware that you do not drive us into a separate system; for
if you do, as certain as the decrees of Heaven, you will be compelled
to appeal to the sword to maintain yourselves at home. It may not come
in your day ; but your children's children will be covered with the
blood of domestic factions, and will see a plundering mob contending for
power and conquest." Mr. Pickens, of South Carolina, in Congress,
21st Jan., 1836.
So the way to prevent plundering mobs, is to enslave the
poor ! We shall see presently, how far this expedient has been
successful in preventing murdering mobs.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 509
" In the very nature of things there must be classes of persons to
discharge all the different offices of society, from the highest to the
lowest. Some of these offices are regarded as degrading, although they
must and will be performed. Hence those manifest forms of depen
dent servitude which produce a sense of superiority in the masters or
employers, and of inferiority on the part of the servants. Where
these offices are performed by members of the political community, a
DANGEROUS' element is obviously introduced into the body politic.
Hence the alarming tendency to violate the rights of property by
agrarian legislation, which is beginning to be manifest in the older
States, where universal suffrage prevails without domestic
SLAVERY. " In a word, the institution of domestic slavery supersedes the neces
sity Oi AN ORDER OF NOBILITY, AND ALL THE OTHER APPENDAGES
of A hereditary system of government." Governor MDuffie's
Message to the South Carolina Legislature, 1836.
" We regard slavery as the most safe and stable basis for free
institutions in the world. It is impossible with us, that the conflict can
take place between labor and capital, which makes it so difficult to
establish and maintain free institutions in all wealthy and highly civil
ized nations where such institutions do not exist. Every plantation is
a little community, with the master at its head, who concentrates in
himself the united interests of capital and labor, of ivhich he is the com
mon representative." Mr. Calhoun, of South Carolina, in the U. S. Sen
ate, Jan. 10th, 1840.
" We of the South have cause now, and shall soon have greater, to.
congratulate ourselves on the existence of a population among us, which
excludes the populace which in effect rules some of our northern
neighbors, and is rapidly gaining strength wherever slavery does not
exist — a populace made up of the dregs of Europe, and the most
worthless portion of the native population." Richmond Whig, 1837.
" Would you do a benefit to the horse or the ox by giving him a
cultivated understanding, a fine feeling ? So far as the mere labor
er has the pride, the knowledge, or the aspiration of a freeman, he is
unfitted for his situation. If there are sordid, servile, laborious offices
to beperformed, is it not better that there should be sordid, servile,
laborious beings to perform them ?
" Odium has been cast upon our legislation, on account of its forbid
ding the elements of education being communicated to slaves. But in
truth what injury is done them by this ? He who works during the day
with his hands, does not read in the intervals of leisure for his
amusement, or the improvement of his mind, or the exception is so very
rare as scarcely to need the being provided for." ChanceUor Harper
of South Carolina. Southern Literary Messenger.
This same gentleman delivered an oration on the 4th of July,
1840, reviewing the principles of the two great political parties,
and although he supported Mr. Van Buren's administration, in

510 jay's works.
consideration of its devotion to the slave interest, he frankly
inquires :
" Is there anything in the principles and opinions of the great dem
ocratic rabble, as it has been justly called, which should induce us
to identify ourselves with that ? Here you may find every possible
grade and hue of opinion which has ever existed in the country. Here
you may find loafer, and loco-foco, and agrarian, and all the rabble of
the city of New York, the most corrupt and depraved of rabbles; and
which controls, in a great degree, the city itself, and through that, as
being the commercial metropolis, exercises much influence over the
State at large.
" What are the essential principles of democracy as distinguished
from republicanism ? The first consists in the dogma, so portentous to
us, of the natural equality and unalienable- right to liberty of every
human being. Our allies, 0 no doubt, are willing at present to modify
the doctrine in our favor. But the spirit of democracy at large makes
no such exceptions, nor will these (our allies, the northern democrats)
continue to make it, longer than necessity or interest may require.
The second consists in the doctrine of the divine right of majorities ;
a doctrine not less false and slavish and absurd, than the ancient doc
trine of the divine right of kings."
Mr. Robert Wickliffe, of Kentucky, in a speech published in
the Louisville Advertiser, in opposition to those who were
adverse to the importation of slaves from the States, thus
discourseth :
" Gentlemen wanted to drive out the black population, that they may
obtain white negroes in their place. White negroes have this
advantage over black negroes, they can be converted into voters ; and
the men who live upon the sweat of their brow, and pay them but a
dependent and scanty subsistence, can, if able to keep ten thousand of
them in employment, come up to the polls, Imd change the destiny of
the country.
" How improved will be our condition when we have such white
negroes as perform the servile labors of Europe, of Old England, and
he would add now of New England ; when our body servants and our
cart drivers and our street sweepers are white negroes instead of black.
Where will be the independence, the proud spirit, and the chivalry of
Kentuckians then ? "
Had the gentleman looked across the river, he might have
found an answer to his question, in the wealth, power, intelli
gence and happiness of Ohio.
In reading the foregoing extracts, it is amusing to observe
how adroitly the slave-holders avoid all recognition of any other

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 511
classes among them than masters and slaves. Who would sus
pect from their language, that they were themselves a small
minority of the white inhabitants, and that their own " white
negroes " could, if united and so disposed, 'outvote them at the
polls ? It is worthy of remark that in their denunciations of
the populace, the rabble, those who work ivith their hands, they
refer not to complexion, but to condition ; not to slaves, but to
the poor and laborious of their own color.
Slavery, although considered by Mr. Calhoun "the most
stable basis of free institutions in the world," has, as we shall
presently show you, in fact, led to grosser outrages in the social
compact, to more alarming violations of constitutional liberty, to
more bold and reckless assaults upon " free institutions " than
have ever been even attempted by the much-dreaded agrarianism
of the North. 5. STATE OF RELIGION.
The deplorable ignorance and want of industry at the South,
together with the disrepute in which honest industry is held,
cannot but exercise, in connection with other causes, a most
unhappy influence on the morals of the inhabitants. There are
between two and three millions of slaves, who are kept by law
in brutal ignorance, and who, with few exceptions, are virtually
heathens.* There are also among them more than 200,000 free negroes,
thus described by Mr. Clay: — " Contaminated themselves, they
extend their vices to all around them." f
If evil communications corrupt good manners, the intimate
intercourse of the whites with these people must be depraving :
nor can the exercise of despotic power by the masters, their
wives and children, be otherwise than unfavorable to the benev
olent affections.
'» " From long-continued and close observation, we believe that their (the
slaves') moral and religious condition is such that they may justly he con- •
sidered the heathen of this Christian country, and will bear comparison
with heathen in any country in the world. The negroes are destitute of the-
Gospel, and ever will be under the present state of things." Report published
by the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, Dec. 3, 1833.
f Speech before the American Colonization Society.

512 jay's WORKS.
It is with, pain we are compelled to add, that the conduct and
avowed sentiments of the southern clergy in relation to slavery,
necessarily exert an unhappy influence. Most of the clergy are
themselves slave-holders, and are thus personally interested in
the system, and are consequently bold and active in justifying it
from Scripture, representing it as an institution enjoying the
divine sanction. An English author, in reference to these
efforts of your clergy forcibly remarks :
" Whatever may have been the unutterable wickedness of slavery
in the West Indies, there it never was baptized in the Redeemer's hal
lowed name, and its corruptions were not concealed in the garb of
religion. That acme of piratical turpitude was reserved for the pro
fessed disciples of Jesus in America."
And well has John Quincy Adams said,
" The spirit of slavery has acquired not only an overruling ascendency,
but it has become at once intolerant, proscriptive, and sophistical. It
has crept into the philosophical chairs of the schools. Its cloven hoof
has ascended the pulpits of the churches — professors of colleges teach
it as a lesson of morals — ministers of the Gospel seek and profess to
find sanctions for it in the word of God."
The ministers live in the midst of slavery, and they know that
the system on which they bestow their benedictions, is, in the
language of Wilberforce, " a system of the grossest injustice,
of the most heathenish irreligion and immorality; of the most
unprecedented degradation and unrelenting cruelty." Surely,
we have reason to fear that the denunciation of Scripture against
false prophets of old, will be accomplished against the southern
clergy, " Because they ministered unto them before their idols,
and caused the House of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore
have I lifted mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and
they shall bear their iniquity." Ezek. 44 : 12.
Under such ministrations it capnot be expected that Christian
zeal and benevolence will take deep root and bear very abundant
fruit. This is a subject on which few statistics can be obtained.
We have no means of ascertaining the number of churches and
ministers throughout the United States of the various denomina
tions. Some opinion, however, may be formed of the religious

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 513
character of a people, by their efforts for the moral improvement
of the community. In the United States there are numerous
voluntary associations for religious and benevolent purposes,
receiving large contributions and exercising a wide moral influ
ence. Now, of all the large benevolent societies professing to
promote the welfare of the whole country, and asking and re
ceiving contributions from all parts of it, we recollect but one
that had its origin in the slave-region, and the business of which
is transacted in it, and that is the American Colonization
Society. Of the real object and practical tendency of this
Society it is unnecessary to speak — you understand them.
In the Tenth Report of the American Sunday School Union
(p. 50) is a table showing the number of Sunday School
scholars in each State for the year 1834. Prom this table we
learn that
There were in the free States,  504,835 scholars.
" " slave "  82,532 "
The single State of New York had  161,768 "
About twice as many as in the thirteen slave States.
And is it possible that this literary and religious destitution,
together with the vicious habits of the colored population, should
have no effect on the moral character of the whites ?
We entreat your patient and dispassionate attention to the
remarks and facts we are about to submit to you on the next
subject of inquiry. 6. STATE OF MORALS.
Christianity, by controlling the malignant passions of our
nature, and exciting its benevolent affections, gives a sacredness
to the rights of others, and especially does it guard human life.
But where her blessed influence is withdrawn, or greatly im
paired, the passions resume their sway, and violence and cruelty
become the characteristics of every community in which the
civil authority is too feeble to afford protection.
No society is free from vices and crime, and we well know
that human depravity springs from another source than slavery.
44

514 jay's works.
It will not, however, be denied that circumstances and institu
tions may check those evil propensities to which we are all
prone ; and it will, we presume, be admitted that in forming an
opinion of the moral condition and advancement of any com
munity, we are to be guided in our judgment, not by insulated
facts, but by the tone of public opinion. Atrocities occur in
the best-regulated and most virtuous States, but in such they
excite indignation and are visited with punishment ; while in
vicious communities they are treated with levity and impunity.
In a country where suffrage is universal, the representatives
will but reflect the general character of their constituents. If
we are permitted to apply this rule in testing the moral condition
of the South, the result will not be favorable.
In noticing the public conduct of public men, we are not
sensible of violating any principle of courtesy of delicacy ; we
touch not their private character or their private acts ; we refer
to their language and sentiments, merely as one indication of
the standard of morals among their constituents, not as conclusive
proof apart from other evidence.
On the 15th of February, 1837, R. M. Whitney was arraigned
before the House of Representatives for contempt in refusing to
attend when required before a committee. His apology was
that he was afraid of his life, and he called, as a witness in his
behalf, one of the committee, Mr. Fairfield, since Governor of
the State of Maine. It appeared that in the committee, Mr.
Peyton, of Virginia, had put some interrogatory to Whitney,.
who had returned a written answer which was deemed offensive.
On this, as Mr. Fairfield testified, Peyton addressed the Chair
man in these terms : " Mr. Chairman, I wish you to inform this
witness, that he is not to insult me in his answers : if he does,
God damn him ! I will take his hfe on the spot ! " Whitney
rose and said he claimed the protection of the committee, on
which Peyton exclaimed, " God damn you, you shan't speak,
you shan't say one word while you are in this room ; if you do I
will put you to death ! " Soon after, Peyton, observing that
Whitney was looking at him, cried out, " Damn him, his eyes
are on me — God damn him, he is looking at me — he shan't
do it — damn him, he shan't look at me ! "

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. ~ 515
The newspaper reports of the proceedings of Congress, a few
years since, informed us that Mr. Dawson, a member from Lou
isiana, went up to Mr. Arnold, another member, and said to him,
" If you attempt to speak, or rise from your seat, sir, by God
I'll cut your throat ! "
In a debate on the Florida war, Mr Cooper having taken
offence at Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, for some remarks relative to
slavery, said in his reply, " If the gentleman from Ohio will
come among my constituents and promulgate his doctrines there,
he will find that Lynch law will be inflicted, and that the gen
tleman will reach an elevation which he little *dreams of."
In the session of 1841, Mr. Payne, of Alabama, in debate,
alluding to the abolitionists, among whom he insisted the Post
master-General ought to be included, declared that he would
proscribe all abolitionists, he " would put the brand of Cain upon
them — yes, the mark of hell, and if they came to the South
he Would HANG THEM LIKE DOGS ! "
Mr. Hammond, of South Carolina, at an earlier period thus
expressed himself in the House : " I warn the abolitionists, ig
norant, infatuated barbarians as they are, that if chance shall
throw any of them into our hands, they may expect a felon's

death

! "

In 1848, Mr. Hale, a senator from New Hampshire, intro
duced a bill for the protection of property in the District of
Columbia, attempts having been made to destroy an Anti-Sla
very press. Mr. Foote, a senator from Mississippi, thus ex
pressed himself in reply : " I invite him (Mr. H.) to the State
of Mississippi, and will tell him beforehand, in all honesty, that
he could not go ten miles into the interior, before he would
grace one of the tallest trees of the forest, with a rope around
his neck, with the approbation of every virtuous and patriotic
citizen, and that, if necessary, I should myself assist in the
operation." And now, do these honorable gentleman, with all their profan
ity and vulgarity, breathing out threatenings and slaughter, rep
resent the feelings, and manners, and morals of the slave-holding
community ? We have seen no evidence that they have lost a

516 jay's works.
particle of popular favor in consequence of their ferocious
violence. Alas ! their language has been reechoed again and
again by public meetings in the slave States ; and we proceed
to lay before you overwhelming proof that in the expression of
their murderous feelings towards the abolitionists, they have
faithfully represented the sentiments of their constituents.
7. DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE.
We have already seen that one of the blessings which the
slave-holders attribute to their favorite institution, is exemption
from popular tumults, and from encroachments by the democracy
upon the rights of property. Their argument is, that political
power in the hands of the poor and laboring classes is always
attended with danger, and that this danger is averted when these
classes are kept in bondage. With these gentlemen, life and
liberty seem to be accounted as the small dust of the balance,
when weighed against -slavery and plantations ; hence, to pre
serve the latter they are ever ready to sacrifice the former, in
utter defiance of laws and constitutions.
We have already noticed the murderous proposition in rela
tion to the abolitionists, made by Governor McDuffie to the
South Carolina Legislature in 1835 : " It is my deliberate opin
ion that the laws of every community should punish this species
of interference, by death without benefit of clergy." In an
address to a legislative assembly, Governor McDuffie refrained
from the indecency of recommending illegal murder ; but we
will soon find that the public sentiment of the South by no
means requires that abolitionists shall be put to death with legal
formalities"; but on the contrary, the slave-holders are ready, in
the language of Mr. Payne, to " hang them like dogs."
We hazard little in the assertion, that in no civilized Christian
community on earth is human life less protected by law, or more
frequently taken with impunity, than in the slave States of the
Federal Union. We wish to impress upon you the danger and
corruption to which you and your children are exposed from the
institution, which, as we have shown you, exists by your suffer-

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 517
ance. But you have been taught to respect this institution ;
and hence it becomes necessary to enter into details, however
painful, and to present you with authorities which you cannot
reject. What we have just said of the insecurity of human
life, will probably be deemed by you and others as abolition
slander. Listen, then, to slave-holders themselves :
" We long to see the day," said the Governor of Kentucky in his
message to the Legislature, 1837, " when the law will assert its majesty,
and stop the wanton destruction of life which almost daily occurs with
in the jurisdiction of this commonwealth. Men slaughter each
other with almost perfect impunity. A species of common
law has grown up in Kentucky, which, were it written down, would,
in all civilized countries, cause her to be re-christened, in derision,
THE LAND OF BLOOD."
The present Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Kentucky,* a
few years since, published an article on the murders in that
State. He states that some with whom he had conversed esti
mated them at eighty per annum ; but that he had rated them
at about thirty ; and that he had ascertained that for the last
three years, there had not been " an instance of capital pun
ishment in any white offender."
" It is believed," says he, " there are more homicides on an average
of two years in any ot our more populous counties, than in the whole of
several of our States of equal, or nearly equal, population to Kentucky '
Governor McVay, of Alabama, in his message to the Legis
lature, November 15, 1837, thus speaks :
" Wc hear of homicides in different parts of the State continually,
and yet have few convictions, and still fewer executions ! Why do
wc hear of stabbings and shootings almost daily in some part or
other of our State ? "
" Death by Violence. — The moral atmosphere in our State ap
pears to be in a deleterious and sanguinary condition. Almost every
exchange paper which reaches us, contains some inhuman and revolt
ing case of murder, or death by violence. Not less than fifteen
deaths by violence have occurred, to our certain knowledge, within the
past three months." Grand Gulf Miss. Advertiser, 27th June, 1837.
" Contempt of Human Life. — In view of the crimes which are
daily committed, we are led to inquire whether it is owing to the
* It is believed this gentleman is not a slave-holder.
44*

518 jay's WORKS.
inefficiency of our laws, or to the manner in which these laws are
administered, that this frightful deluge of human blood
flows through our streets and our places of public re
sort." New Orleans Bee, 23d May, 1838.
At the opening of the Criminal Court in New Orleans, No
vember 4th, 1837, Judge Lansuque delivered an address, in
which, speaking of the prevalence of violence, he used the fol
lowing language :
" As a Louisiana parent, I reflect with terror, that our beloved chil
dren, reared to become one day honorable and useful citizens, may be
the victims of these votaries of vice and hcentiousness. Without some
powerful and certain remedy, our streets will become butcheries,
OVERFLOWING WITH THE BLOOD OF OUR CITIZENS ! "
While the slave-holders are terrified at the idea of the " great
democratic rabble," and rejoice in human bondage as supersed
ing the necessity of " an order of nobility, and all the appen
dages of a hereditary government," they have established a reign
of terror, as insurrectionary and as sanguinary in principle, as
that created by the sans culottes of the French Revolution. We
indulge in no idle declamation, but speak the words of truth
and soberness.
A public meeting, convened in the church (! !) in the town
of Clinton, Mississippi, 5th of September, "1835 —
" Resolved, that it is our decided opinion, that any individual who
dares to circulate, with a view to effectuate the designs of the aboh
tionists, any of the incendiary tracts or newspapers now in the course
of transmission to this country, is justly worthy, in the sight of God
and man, of immediate death ; and we doubt not that such would be
the punishment of any such offender, in any part of the State of
Mississippi where he may be found."
It would be tedious to copy the numerous resolutions of
similar import, passed by public meetings in almost every slave
State. It is well known that the promoters of those lawless
and sanguinary proceedings, did not belong to the " rabble '1—
they were not " mean whites," but rich, influential slave-hold
ers. A meeting was held in 1835 at Williamsburgh, Virginia,
which was harangued by no less a personage than John Tyler
once Governor of the State, and since President of the United

MEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA* 5l§
States: under this gentleman's auspices, and after his address,
the meeting resolved —
" That we regard the printing and circulating within our limits, of
incendiary publications, tending to excite our slaves to insurrection
and rebellion, as treasonable acts of the most alarming character, and
that when we detect offenders in the act, we will inflict upon them
condign punishment, without resorting to any other tribunal."
The profligacy of this resolution needs no comment. Mr.
Tyler well knew that the laws of Virginia, and every other
State, were abundantly sufficient to punish crime : but he and
his fellow-lynchers wished to deter the people from receiving
and reading anything adverse to slavery ; and hence, with their
usual audacity, they determined to usurp the prerogative of
courts and juries, and throw down all the bulwarks which the
law has erected for the protection of innocence.
Newspapers are regarded as the mirrors of public opinion.
Let us see what opinions are reflected in those of the South.
The Charleston Courier, 11th August, 1835, declared that
" the gallows and the stake " awaited the abolitionists who should
dare to " appear in person among us."
" The cry of the whole South should be death, instant death to the
abohtionist, wherever ha. is caught." Augusta {Geo.) Chronicle.
"Let us declare through the public journals of our country, that
the question of slavery is not and shall not be open to discussion ; that
the system is too deep-rooted among us, and must remain forever ; that
the very moment any private individual attempts to lecture us upon
its evils and immorality, and the necessity of putting means in opera
tion to secure us from them, in the same moment his tongue shall be
cut out and cast upon the dunghill." Columbia (<S. C.) Telescope.
This, it will be noticed, is a threat addressed, not to the
northern abolitionists, but to the great majority of the white in
habitants of the South ; and they are warned not to express an
opinion offensive to the aristocracy.
" Awful but Just Punishment. — We learn, by the arrival of
the steamboat Kentucky last evening from Richmond, that Robinson,
the Englishman mentioned in the Beacon of Saturday, as being in the
vicinity of Lynchburg, was taken about fifteen miles from that town,
and hanged on the spot, for exciting the slaves to insurrection."
Norfolk (Va.) Beacon, 10th August, 1835.

520 jay's WORKS.
" We can assure the Bostonians, one and all, who have embarked
in the nefarious scheme of abolishing slavery at the South, that lashes
will hereafter be spared the backs of their emissaries. Let them send
out their men to Louisiana ; they will never return to tell their suffer
ings, but they shall expiate the crime of interfering with our domestic
institutions, by being burned at the stake." New Orleans True
American. " Abolition editors in slave States will not dare to avow their opin
ions. It would be instant death to them." Missouri Argus.
Here, again, is a threat directed against any person, who may
happen to have the conimand of types and printer's ink.
Now, we ask what must be the state of society, where the
public journals thus justify and stimulate the public thirst for
blood ? The very idea of trial is scouted, and the mob, or rather
the slave-holders themselves, are acknowledged to be the arbiters
of life and death. The question we put to you as to the state of
society, has been already answered by the official declarations of
the Governors of Kentucky and Alabama, and of Judge Lan-
suque, of New Orleans ; as well as by the extracts we have given
you from some of the southern journals, relative to the frequency
of murders among them. We could farther answer it, by filling
sheets with accounts of fearful atrocities. But we purposely re
frain from referring to assassinations and private crimes ; for
such, as already remarked, occur in a greater or less degree in
every community, and do not necessarily form a test of the
standard of morals. But we ask your attention to a test which
cannot be questioned. We will present for your consideration a
series of atrocities, perpetrated, not by individuals in secret, but
in open day by the slave-holding populace.
We have seen that two of the southern papers we have quoted,
threaten abolitionists with the stake. This awful and horrible
punishment has been banished, by the progress of civilization,
from the whole of Christendom, with the single exception of the
American slave States. It is scarcely necessary to say, that
even in them, it is unknown to the laws, although familiar to
the people. It is also deserving of remark, that the two jour
nals which have made this atrocious threat were published, not
among the rude borderers of our frontier settlements, but in the

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 521
populous cities of Charleston and New Orleans, the very centres
of southern refinement,
" Tuscaloosa (Ala.), June 20, 1827. — The negro [one who had
killed a Mr. M'Neilly] was taken before a justice of the peace, who
waived his "authority, perhaps through fear, as a crowd of persons had
collected, to the number of seventy or eighty, near Mr. People's [the
justice's] house. He acted as president of the mob, and put the vote,
when it was decided that he should be immediately executed by being
burned to death. The sable culprit was led to a tree, and tied to it,
and a large quantity of pine knots collected and placed around him,
and the fatal torch applied to the pile, even against the remonstrances
of several gentlemen who were present, and the miserable being was
in a short time burned to ashes. This is the second negro who has
been thus put to death, without judge or jury, in this country."
On the 28th of April, 1836, a free negro was arrested in St.
Louis (Missouri) and committed to jail on a charge of murder.
A mob assembled and demanded him of the jailer, who surren
dered him. The negro was then chained to a tree a short dis
tance from the Court House, and burned to death.
" After the flames had surrounded their prey, and when his clothes
where in a blaze, all over him, his eyes burnt out of his head, and his
mouth seemingly parched to a cinder, some one in the crowd, more
compassionate than the rest, proposed to put an end to his misery by
shooting him, when it was replied that it would be of no use, since he
was already out of his pain. ' No,' said the wretch, ' I am not, I am
suffering as much as ever ; shoot me, shoot me.' ' No, no,' said one
of the fiends who was standing about the sacrifice they were roasting,
' he shall not be shot, I would sooner slacken the fire, if that would
increase his misery ; ' and the man who said this was, we under
stand, an officer of justice." Alton Telegraph.
"We have been informed that the slave William, who murdered his
master (Huskey) some weeks since, was taken by a party a few days
since from the sheriff oi Hot Spring, and burned alive ! yes, tied up to
the limb of a tree and a fire built under him, and consumed in a slow
lingering torture." Arkansas Gazette, Oct. 29, 1836.
The Natchez Free Trader, lQth June, 1842, gives a horrible
account of the execution of the negro, Joseph, on the 5th of that
month for murder.
" The body," says that paper, " was taken and chained to a tree im
mediately on the bank of the Mississippi, on what is called Union
Point. The torches were lighted and placed in the pile. He watched
unmoved the curling flame as it grew, until it began to entwine itself
around and feed upon his body ; then he sent forth cries of agony

522 jay's WORKS.
painful to the ear, begging some one to blow his brains out ; at the
same time surging with almost superhuman strength, until the staple
with which the chain was fastened to the tree, not being well secured,
drew out, and he leaped from the burning pile. At that moment the
sharp ring of several rifles was heard, and the body of the negro fella
corpse to the ground. He was picked up by two or three, and again
thrown into the fire and consumed."
"Another Negro Burned. —We learn from the clerk of the
Highlander, that while wooding a short distance below the mouth of
the Red River, they were invited to stop a short time and see another
negro burned." N. O. Bulletin.
Thus we see that burning negroes alive is treated as a specta
cle, and strangers are invited to witness it. The victim of this
exhibition was the negro Enoch, said to have been an accom
plice of Joseph, and was burned a few days after the other.
We have thus given you no less than six instances of human
beings publicly burned alive in four slave States, and in each
case with entire impunity to the miscreants engaged in the hor
rible murder. But these were cases which happened to be
reported in the newspapers, and with which we happened to
become acquainted. There is reason to believe that these exe
cutions are not of rare occurrence, and that many of them, either
through indifference or policy, are not noticed in the southern
papers. A recent traveller remarks :
" Just before I reached Mobile, two men were burned alive there in
a slow fire in the open air, in the presence of the gentlemen oi the
city. No word was breathed of the transaction in the newspapers."
Martineau's Society in America, Vol. I, p. 373.
But the murderous spirit deplored by the Governors of Ken
tucky and Alabama, and the " frightful deluge of human blood "
complained of by the New Orleans editor, had no reference to
the murder of negroes. Men who can enjoy the sight of ne
groes writhing in flames, and are permitted by the civil authori
ties to indulge in such exhibitions, will not be very scrupulous
in taking the lives of each other. It is well known how inces
santly the work of human slaughter is going on amono- them ;
and no reader of their public journals can be ignorant of the
frequent occurrence of their deadly street fights. But, for the

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 523
reason already given, we meddle not with these. We charge
the slave-holding community, as such, with sanctioning murder,
and protecting the perpetrators, and setting the laws at defi
ance. This we know is a grievous charge^ and most grievous
the proof of it. But mistake not our meaning. God forbid we
should deny that many of the community to which we refer,
utterly abhor the atrocities we are about to detail. We speak of
the murderous feelings of the slave-holding community, just as
we speak of the politics, the manners, and the morals of any other
community, freely acknowledging that there are numerous and
honorable exceptions. For the general truth of our assertion,
we appeal to the authorities and the facts we have aheady laid
before you, and to those we are about to offer.
You have already seen that the pro-slavery press has recom
mended the murder of such northern abolitionists as may be
caught in the South ; we now ask your attention to the efforts
made by the slave-holders to get prominent abolitionists into
their power.
In 1831, a citizen of Massachusetts established a newspaper
at Boston, called the Liberator, and devoted to the cause of
negro emancipation. The undertaking was perfectly legal,, and
he himself, having never been in Georgia, had of course vio
lated none of her laws. The Legislature, however, forthwith
passed a law, offering a bribe of $5000 to any person who
would arrest and bring to trial and conviction, in Georgia, the
editor and publisher of the Boston paper. This most atrocious
law was "approved" on the 26th of December, 1831, by
William Lumpkin, the Governor. The object of the bribe
could have been no other than the abduction and murder
of the conductor of the paper — his trial and conviction under
Georgia laws being a mere pretence : the Georgia courts have
as much jurisdiction over the press in Paris as in Boston. A
Lynch court was the only one that could have taken cognizance
of the offence, and its proceedings would undoubtedly have
been both summary and sanguinary.
The horrible example thus set by the Georgia Legislature
was not without its followers.

524 jay's works.
At a meeting of slave-holders at Sterling, Sept. 4, 1835, it
was formally recommended to the Governor to issue a procla
mation, offering the $5000 appropriated by the Act of 1831, as
a reward for the apprehension of either of ten persons named in'
the resolution, citizens, of New York and Massachusetts, and
one a subject of Great Britain ; not one of whom it was even
pretended had ever set his foot on the soil of Georgia.
The Milledgeville (Ga.) Federal Union, of Feb. 1, 1836,
contained an offer of $10,000 for kidnapping A. A. Phelps, a
clergyman residing in the city of New York.
The Committee of Vigilance of the Parish of East Feliciana
offered in the Louisiana Journal of 15th of Oct. 1835, $50,000
to any person who would deliver into their hands Arthur
Tappan, a New York merchant.
At a public meeting of the citizens of Mount Meigs, Alabama,
13th of August, 1836, the Honorable (!) Bedford Ginress in
the chair, a reward of $50,000 was offered for the apprehension
of Arthur Tappan, or La Roy Sunderland, a clergyman of the
Methodist Church residing in New York.
Let us now witness the practical operation of that murderous
spirit which dictated the foregoing villanous bribes. We have
already seen the conduct of the slave-holding community to
negro offenders ; we are now to notice its tender mercies to men
of its own color.
In 1835, there was a real or affected apprehension of a ser
vile insurrection in the State of Mississippi. The slave-holders,
as usual on such occasions, were exceedingly frightened, and
were exceedingly cruel. A pamphlet was afterwards pub
lished, entitled "Proceedings of the Citizens of Madison County,
Miss., at Livingston, in July, 1835, in relation to the trial and
punishment of several individuals implicated in a 'contemplated
insurrection in this State. Prepared by Thomas Shuckelford,
Esquire. Printed at Jackson, Miss." This pamphlet, then, is
the southern account of the affair ; and while it is more minute
in its details than the narratives published in the newspapers
at the time, we are not aware that it contradicts them. It may
be regarded as a sort of semi-official report, put forth by the

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 525
slave-holders, and pubhshed under their implied sanction. It
appears, from this account, that in consequence of " rumors "
that the slaves meditated an insurrection — that a colored girl
had been heard to say that " she was tired of waiting on the
white folks — wanted to be her own mistress for the balance of
her days, and clean up her own house, &c, " a meeting was
held at which resolutions were signed, organizing a committee,
and authorizing them " to bring before them any person or per
sons, either white or black, and try in a summary manner any
person brought before them, with power to hang or whip, being
always governed by the laws of the land, so far only as they shall
be applicable to the case in question ; otherwise to act as in their
discretion shall seem best for the benefit of the country and the
protection of its citizens."
This was certainly a most novel mode of erecting and com?
missioning a court of judicature, with the power of life and
death, expressly authorized to act independently of " the laws
of the land. "
The constitution or the State of Mississippi, which no doubt
many of the honorable judges of the court had on other occa
sions taken an oath to support, contains the following clause : —
" No person shall be accused, arrested or detained, except in cases
ascertained by law, and according to the forms which the same has
prescribed ;„and no person shall be punished, but in virtue of a law
established and promulgated prior to the offence, and legally applied."
Previous to the organization of this court, five slaves had
already been hung by the people. The court, or rather, as it
was modestly called by the meeting who erected it, " the com
mittee," proceeded to try Dr. Joshua Cotton^ of New England.
It was proved to the satisfaction of the committee that he had
been detected in many low tricks — that he was deficient in
feeling and affection for his second wife — that he had traded
with negroes — that he had asked a negro boy whether the
slaves were whipped much, how he would like to be free, &c.
It is stated that Cotton made a confession that he had been aim
ing to bring about a conspiracy. The committee condemned
him to BE HANGED IN AN HOUR AFTER SENTENCE.
45

526 jay's works.
William Saunders, a native of Tennessee, was next tried.
He was convicted " of being often out at night, and giving no
satisfactory explanation for so doing " — ¦ of equivocal conduct —
of being intimate with Cotton, &c. Whereupon, by a unani
mous vote, he was found guilty and sentenced to be hung. He
was executed with Cotton on the 4th of July.
Albe Dean, of Connecticut, was next tried. He was con
victed of being a lazy, indolent man, having veiy little preten
sions to honesty — of " pretending to make a living by construct
ing washing machines " — of " often coming to the owners of
runaways, to intercede with the masters to save them from a
whipping." He was sentenced to be hung, and was executed.
A. L. Donavan, of Kentucky, was then put on his trial. He
was suspected of' having traded with the negroes — of being
found in their cabins, and enjoying himself in their society. It
was proved that " at one time he actually undertook to release
a negro who was tied, which negro afterwards implicated him,"
and that he once told an overseer " it was cruel work to be
whipping the poor negroes as he was obliged to do." The com
mittee were satisfied, from the evidence before them, that Dona
van was an emissary of those deluded fanatics of the North,
the abolitionists. He was condemned to be hung, and suffered
accordingly. Ruel Blake was next tried, condemned and hung. " He
protested his innocence to the last, and said his life was sworn
away." Here we have a record of no less than ten men, five black
and five white, probably all innocent of the crime alleged
against them, deliberately and publicly put to death by the
slave-holders, without the shadow of legal authority.
The Maysville (Ken.) Gazette, in announcing Donavan's
murder, says, " He formerly belonged to Maysville, and was a
much respected citizen."
A letter from Donavan to his wife, written just before his
execution, and published in the Maysville paper, says :
" I am doomed to die to-morrow at twelve o'clock, on a charge of
having been concerned in a negro insurrection, in this State amon<*

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 527
many other whites. We are not tried by a regular jury, but by a com
mittee of planters appointed for the purpose, who have not time to
wait on a person for evidence. ..... Now I must close by saying,
before my Maker and Judge, that I go into his presence as innocent of
this charge as when I was born  I must bid you a final farewell,*
hoping that the God of the widow and the fatherless will give you
grace to bear this most awful sentence."
And now, did these butcheries by the Mississippi planters
excite the indignation of the slave-holding communities? Re
ceive the answer from an editor of the Ancient Dominion,
replying to the comments of a northern newspaper.
" The Journal may depend upon it that the Cottons and the Saun-
derses, men confessing themselves guilty of inciting and plotting insur
rection, will be hanged up wherever caught, and that without the
formality of a legal trial. Northern or southern, such will be their inev
itable doom. For our part, we applaud the transaction, and none in
our opinion can condemn it, who have not a secret sympathy with the
Garrison sect. - If northern sympathy and effort are to be cooled and
extinguished by such cases, it proves but this, that the South ought to
feel little confidence in the professions it receives from that quarter."
Richmond Whig.
About the time of the massacre in Clinton county, another
awful tragedy was performed at Vicksburg in the same State.
Five men, said to be gamblers, were hanged by the mob on
the 5th July, in open day.
The Louisiana Advertiser, oi 13th July, says:
" These unfortunate men claimed to the last, the privilege of Amer
ican citizens, the trial by jury, and professed themselves willing to sub
mit to anything their country would legally inflict upon them ; but we
are sorry to say, their petition was in vain. The black musicians were
ordered to strike up, and the voices of the supplicants were drowned
by the fife and drum. Mr. Riddle, the Cashier of the Planters' Bank,
ordered them to play Yankee Doodle. The unhappy sufferers fre
quently implored a drink of water, but they were refused."
The sympathy of the Louisiana editor, so different from his
brother of Richmond, was probably owing to the fact, that the
murdered men were accused of being gamblers, and not aboli
tionists. When we said these five men were hung by the mob, we did
not mean what Chancellor Harper calls the " democratic rabble."

528 jay's works.
It seems the cashier of a bank, a man to whom the slave-holders
entrust the custody of their money, officiated on the occasion as
Master of Ceremonies.
A few days after the murders at Vicksburg, a negro named
Vincent was sentenced by a Lynch club at Clinton, Miss., to
receive three hundred lashes, for an alleged participation in
an intended insurrection. We copy from the Clinton Gazette t
" On Wednesday evening Vincent was carried out to receive his
stripes, but the assembled multitude were in favor of hanging him.
A vote was accordingly fairly taken, and the hanging party had it by
an overwhelming majority, as the politicians say. He was remanded
to prison. On the day of execution a still larger crowd was assembled,
and fearing that the pubhc sentiment might have changed in regard
to his fate, after everything favorable to the culprit was alleged which
could be said, the vote was taken, and his death was demanded by ihe
people. In pursuance of this sentiment, so unequivocally expressed,
he was led to a black jack, and suspended to one of its branches. We
APPROVE ENTIRELY OF THE PROCEEDINGS-, THE PEOPLE HAVE
ACTED PROPERLY."
Thus sixteen human beings were deliberately and publicly
murdered, by assembled crowds, in different parts of the State
of Mississippi, within little more than one week, in open de
fiance of the laws and constitution of the State.
And now, we ask, what notice did the chief magistrate of
Mississippi, sworn to support her constitution, sworn to execute
her laws — what notice, we ask, did he take of these horrible
massacres? Why, at the next session of the Legislature,
Governor Lynch, addressing tliem in reference to abolition, re
marked :
" Mississippi has given a practical demonstration of feeling on this
exciting subject, that may serve as an impressive admonition to offend
ers; and however we may regret the occasion, we are constrained to
admit that necessity will sometimes prompt a summary mode of trial
and punishment unknown to the law."
The iniquity and utter falsehood of this declaration, as applied
to the transactions alluded to, are palpable. If the victims were
innocent, no necessity required their murder. If guilty, no ne
cessity required their execution contrary to law. There was no
difficulty in securing their persons and bringing them to trial.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 529
In 1841, an unsuccessful attempt was made in Kentucky to
murder a man. The assailants were arrested and lodged in jail
for trial. Their fate is thus related in a letter by an eye-witness,
published in the Cincinnati Gazette :
"Williamstown, Ky.,July 11, 1841.
"The unfortunate men, Lyman Couch and Smith Maythe, were
taken out of jail on Saturday about 12 o'clock, and taken to the ground
where they committed the horrid deed on Utterback, and at 4 o'clock
were hung on the tree where Utterback lay when his throat was cut.
The jail was opened by force. I suppose there were from four to
seven hundred people engaged in it. Resistance was all in vain.
There were three speeches made to the mob, but all in vain. They al
lowed the prisoners the privilege of clergy for about five hours, and then
observed that they had made their peace with God, and they deserved to
die. The mob was conducted with coolness and order, more so than I
ever heard of on such occasions. But such a day was never witnessed
in our little village, and I hope never will be again."
The fact that this atrocity was perpetrated in " our little vil
lage," and by a rural population, affords an emphatic and horrible
indication of the state of morals in one of the oldest and best
of our slave States.
Would that we could here close these fearful narratives ; but
another and more recent instance of that ferocious lawlessness
which slavery has engendered, must still be added. The follow
ing facts are gathered from the Norfolk ( Va.) Beacon, oi 19th
Nov., 1842.
George W. Lore was, in April, 1842, convicted in Alabama,
on circumstantial evidence, of the crime of murder. The Su
preme Court granted a new trial, remarking, as is stated in another
paper, that the testimony on which he was convicted was " unfit
to be received by any court of justice recognized among civilized
nations." In the mean time, Lore escaped from jail, and was
afterwards arrested. He was seized by a mob, who put it to
vote, whether he should be surrendered to the civil authority or
be hung. Of 132 votes, 130 were for immediate death ; and he
was accordingly hung at Spring Hill, Bourbon County, on the
4th of November.
And now, what think you of Mr. Calhoun's "most safe and
stable basis for free institutions ? " Do you number trial by
45*

530 jay's works.
jury among free institutions ? You see on what basis it rests
— the will of the slave-holders. " In New York," we are told by
high southern authority, "you may find loafer, and loco-foco,
and agrarian, and the most corrupt and depraved of rabbles."
But we ask you, where would your life be most secure if charged
with crime,— amid the rabble of New York, or that of Clinton,
Vicksburg, and Williamstown ? We think we have fully proved
our assertion respecting the disregard of human life felt by the
slave-holding community ; and of course their contempt for those
legal barriers which are erected for its protection. Let us now
inquire more particularly how far slavery is indeed a stable
basis on which free institutions may securely rest,
8, DISREGARD FOR CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONS.
Governor McDuffie, in his speech of 1834 to the South Caro
lina Legislature, characterized the Federal Constitution as " that
miserable mockery of blurred, and obliterated, and tattered
parchment." Judging from their conduct, the slave-holders,
while fully concurring with the Governor in his contempt for
the national parchment, have quite as little respect for their own
State constitution and laws.
The " tattered parchment " of which Mr. McDuffie speaks, de
clares that " the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the
privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States." — Art.
IV, Sec, 2. Notwithstanding this express provision, there are
in almost every slave State, if not in all, laws for seizing, impris
oning, and then selling as slaves for life, citizens having black
or yellow complexions, entering within their borders. This is
done under pretence that the individuals are supposed to be
fugitives from bondage. When circumstances forbid such a sup
position, other devices are adopted for nullifying the provision
we have quoted. By a law of Louisiana, every free negro or
mulatto, arriving on board any vessel as a mariner or passenger,
shall be immediately imprisoned till the departure of the vessel,
when he is to be compelled- to depart in her. If such free negro
or mulatto returns to the State, he is to be imprisoned for five
years.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.

531

The jailer of Savannah some time since reported ten stew
ards as being in his custody. These were free citizens of other
States, deprived of their liberty solely on account of the com
plexion their Maker had given them, and in direct violation of
the express language of the Federal Constitution. Lf any free
negro or mulatto enters the State of Mississippi, for any cause,
however urgent, any white citizen may cause him to be punished
by the sheriff with thirty-nine lashes, and if he does not imme
diately thereafter leave the State, he is sold as a slave.
In Maryland, a free negro or mulatto, coming into the State,
is fined $20, and if he returns he is fined $500, and on default
of payment, is sold as a slave. Truly indeed have the slave
holders rendered the Constitution a blurred, obliterated, and tat
tered parchment. But whenever this same Constitution can, by
the grossest perversion, be made instrumental in upholding and
perpetuating human bondage, then it acquires, for the time, a
marvellous sanctity in their eyes, and they are seized- with a
holy indignation at the very suspicion of its profanation.
The readiness with which southern Governors prefer the most
false and audacious claims, under color of constitutional author
ity, exhibits a state of society in which truth and honor are but
little respected.
In 1833, seventeen slaves effected their escape from Virginia
in a boat, and finally reached New York. To recover these
slaves as such, a judicial investigation in New York would be
necessary, and the various claimants would be required to prove
their property. A more convenient mode presented itself. The
Governor of Virginia made a requisition on the Executive of
New York for them as fugitive felons, and on this requisition, a
warrant was issued for their arrest and surrender. The pre
tended felony was stealing the boat in which they had escaped.
In 1839', a slave escaped from Virginia on board of a vessel
bound to New York. It was suspected, but without a particle of
proof, that some of the crew had favored his escape ; and imme
diately the master made oath that three of the sailors, naming
them, had feloniously stolen the slave ; and the Governor, well
knowing there was no slave-market in New York, and that no

532 jay's works. »
man could there be held in slavery, had the hardihood to demand
the surrender of the mariners on the charge of grand larceny ;
and, in his correspondence with the Governor of New York,
declared the slave was worth six or seven hundred dollars, and
remarked that stealing was " recognized as a crime by all laws,
human and divine."
In 1841, a female slave, belonging to a man named Flournoy,
in Georgia, was discovered on board a vessel about to sail for
New York, and was recovered by her master. It was afterwards
supposed from the woman's story, that she had been induced by
one of the passengers to attempt her escape. Whereupon Flour
noy made oath that John Greenman did feloniously steal his
slave. But the Governor of New York had already refused to
surrender citizens of his State on a charge so palpably false and
absurd. It was therefore deemed necessary to trump up a very
different charge against the accused ; and hence Flournoy made
a second affidavit, that John Greenman did feloniously steal and
take away three blankets, two shawls, three frocks, one pair of ear
rings, and two finger-rings, the property of deponent. Armed with
these affidavits, the Governor demanded the surrender of Green
man under the Constitution. Not an intimation was given by
His Excellency, when he made the demand, of the real facts of
the case, which, in a subsequent correspondence, he was com
pelled to admit. It turned out that the woman, instead of being
stolen, went voluntarily, and no doubt joyfully, on board the
vessel; and that the wearing apparel, &c, were the clothes and
ornaments worn by her ; nor was there a pretence that Green
man had ever touched them, or ever had them in his possession.
We have said that the slave-holders hold their own laws and
constitutions in the same contempt as those of the Federal Gov
ernment, whenever they conflict with the security and perma
nency of slavery. One of the most inestimable of constitutional
privileges is trial by jury ; and this, as we have seen, is
trampled under foot with impunity, at the mandate of the slave
holders. Even John Tyler, as it appears, is for inflicting sum
mary punishment on abolitionists, by a Lynch club, " without
resorting to any other tribunal."

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 533
We now proceed to inquire how far they respect the liberty
of speech and of the press.
9. LIBERTY OF SPEECH.
The whole nation Witnessed the long successful efforts of the
slave-holders in Congress, by their various gag resolutions, and
through the aid of recreant northern politicians, to destroy all
freedom of debate adverse to " the peculiar institution." They
were themselves ready to dwell, in debate, on the charms of
human bondage ; but when a member took the other side of the
question, then, indeed, he was out of order, the Constitution was
outraged, and the Union endangered. We all know the violent
threats which have been used, to intimidate the friends of human
rights from expressing their sentiments in the national legislature.
" As long," says Governor McDuffie to the South Carolina Legisla
ture, " as long as the halls of Congress shall be open to the discussion
of this question, we can have neither peace nor security."
The Charleston Mercury is, on this subject, very high author
ity ; and in 1837 its editor announced that
" Public opinion in the South would now, we are sure, justify an imme
diate resort to force by the southern delegation, even on the floor of
Congress, were they forthwith to seize and drag from the hall
any man who dared to insult them, as that eccentric old showman, John
Quincy Adams, has dared to do."
When so much malignity is manifested against the freedom of
speech, in the very sanctuary of American liberty, it is not to be
supposed that it will be tolerated in the house of bondage. We
have already quoted a southern paper, which declares that the
moment " any private individual attempts to lecture us on the
evils and immorality of slavery, ^hat very moment his tongue
shall be cut out and cast upon the dunghill."
In Marion College, Missouri, there appeared some symptoms
of anti-slavery feeling among the students. A Lynch club
assembled, and the Rev. Dr. Ely, one of the professors, appeared
before them, and denounced abolition, and submitted a series of
resolutions passed by the faculty, and among them the following ;

534 JAY*S WORKg.
" We do hereby forbid all discussions and public meetings among
the students upon the subject of domestic slavery." The Lynch
ers were pacified, and neither tore down the college nor hung
up the professors ; but before separating they resolved that they
would oppose the elevation to office of any man entertaining abo
lition sentiments, and would withhold their countenance and
support from every such member of the community. Indeed,
it is obvious to any person attentive to the movements of the
South, that the slave-holders dread domestic far more than
foreign interference with their darling system.
10. LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
The constitutions of all the slave States guarantee, in the most
solemn and explicit terms, the liberty of the press ; but it is
well understood that there is one exception to its otherwise un
bounded license : property in human flesh is too sacred to be
assailed by the press. The attributes of the Deity may be
discussed, but not the rights of the master. The characters of
public, and even of private men, may be vilified at pleasure,
provided no reproach is flung upon the slave-holder. Every
abuse in Church or State may be ferreted out and exposed, ex
cept the cruelties practised upon the slaves, unless when they
happen to exceed the ordinary standard of cruelty established
by general usage. Every measure of policy may be advocated,
except that of free labor ; every question of right may be ex
amined, except that of a man to himself; every dogma in
theology may be propagated, except that of the sinfulness of
the slave-code. The very instant the press ventures beyond its
prescribed limits, the constitutional barriers erected for its pro
tection sink into the dust, and a censorship, the more stern and
vindictive from being illegal, crushes it into submission. The
midnight burglary perpetrated upon the Charleston Post Office
and the conflagration of the anti-slavery papers found in it, are
well known. These papers had been sent to distinguished citi
zens, but it was deemed inexpedient to permit them to read facts
and arguments against slavery. Vast pains have been taken to

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA.

535

keep slave-holders as well as others ignorant of every fact and
argument that militates against the system. Hence Mr. Cal
houn's famous bill, authorizing every southern postmaster to
abstract from the mails every paper relating to slavery. Hence
the insane efforts constantly made to expurgate the literature
of the world of all recognition of the rights of black men. Nov
els, annuals, poems, and histories, containing sentiments hostile
to human bondage, are proscribed at the South, and northern
publishers have had the extreme baseness to publish mutilated
editions for the southern market.*
In some of the slave States laws have been passed establishing
a censorship of the press, for the exclusive and special benefit
of the slaveholders. Some time since an anti-slavery pamphlet
was mailed at New York, directed to a gentleman in Virginia.
Presently a letter was received from William Wilson, postmaster
at Lexington, Va., saying :
" I have to advise you that a law, passed at the last session of the
Legislature of this State, which took effect on the first day of this
month, makes it the duty of the postmasters or their assistants to report
to some magistrate (under penalty of from $50 to $200), the receipt
of all such publications at his office ; and if, on examination, the magis
trate is of opinion they eome under the provision of the law, it is his
duty to have them burnt in his presence — which operation was per
formed on the above mentioned pamphlet this morning."
The Rev. Robert J. Breckenridge, a well-known zealous
opponent of abohtion, edited, in 1835, " The Baltimore Religious
Magazine." A number of this magazine contained an article
from a correspondent, entitled " Bible-Slavery." The tone of
this article not suiting the slave-breeders of Petersburg, (Va.,)
the subscribers were deprived of the numbers forwarded to them
through the post-office of that town. The magazines were taken
from the office, and on the 8th of May, 1838, were burnt in the
street, before the door of the public reading-room, in the presence
and by the direction of the mayor and recorder !
* The Harpers, of New York, in reply to a letter from the South, complain
ing of the anti-slavery sentiments in a book they had recently published,
stated : " Since the receipt of your letter we have published an edition of the
' Woods and Fields,' in which the offensive matter has been omitted."

536 jay's works.
It is surely unnecessary to remark, that this Virginia law is
in contemptuous violation of the constitution of Virginia, and of
the authority of the Federal Government. The act of Congress
requires each postmaster to deliver the papers which come to hi3
office to the persons to whom they are directed, and they require
him to take an oath to fulfil his duty. The Virginia law imposes
duties on an officer over whom they have no control, utterly at
variance with his oath, and the obligations under which he
assumed the office. If the postmaster must select, under a
heavy penalty, for a pubhc bonfire, all papers bearing on slavery,
why may he not be hereafter required to select, for the same
fate, all papers hostile to Popery ? Yet similar laws are now in
force in various slave States.
Not only is this espionage exercised over the mail, but meas
ures are taken to keep the community in ignorance of what is
passing abroad in relation to slavery, and what opinions are
.elsewhere held respecting it.
On the first of August, 1342, an interesting address was de
livered in Massachusetts, by the late Dr. Channing, in relation
to West India emancipation, embracing, as was natural and
proper, reflections on American slavery. This address was
copied into a New York weekly paper, and the number con
taining it was offered for sale, as usual, by the agent of the
periodical at Charleston. Instantly the agent was prosecuted
by the South Carolina Association, and was held to bail in the
sum of one thousand dollars, to answer for his crime. Pres
ently after, this same agent received for sale a supply of
" Dickens' Notes on the United States," but having before his
eyes the fear of the slave-holders, he gave notice in the news
papers, that the book would " be submitted to highly intelligent
members of the South Carolina Association for inspection, and
IF the sale is approved by them, it will be for sale — if not,
not." And so the population of one of the largest cities of the
slave-region were not permitted to read a book they were all
burning with impatience to see, till the volume had been first
inspected by a self-constituted board of censors ! The slave
holders, however, were in this instance afraid to put their power

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 537
to the test ; the people might have rebelled if1 forbidden to read
the " Notes," and hence one of the most powerful, effective anti-
slavery tracts yet issued from the press was permitted to be
circulated, because people would read what Dickens had writ
ten. Surely, you will not accuse us of slander, when we say
that the slave-holders have abolished the liberty of the press.
Remember the assertion of the editor of the Missouri Argus :
" Abolition editors in the slave States will not dare to avow
their opinions : it would be instant death to them."
11. MILITARY WEAKNESS.
A distinguished foreigner, after travelling in the Southern
States, remarked that the very aspect of the country bore testir
mony that, defenceless and exposed as they are, it would be
madness to hazard a civil war ; and surely no people in the
world have more cause to shrink from an appeal to arms. We
find at the South no one element ot military strength. Slavery,
as we have seen, checks the progress of population, of the arts,
of enterprise, and of industry. But above all, the laboring
class, which in other countries affords the materials of which
armies are composed, is regarded at the South as a most deadly
foe ; and the sight of a thousand negroes with arms in their
hands, would send a thrill of terror through the stoutest hearts,
and excite a panic which no number of the veteran troops of
Europe could produce. Even now, laws are in force to keep
arms out of the hands of a population which ought to be a reli
ance in danger, but which is dreaded by day and night, in peace
and war.
During our revolutionary war, when the idea of negro emanci
pation had scarcely entered the imagination of any of our citizens
— when there were no "fanatic abolitionists," no "incendiary
publications," no " treasonable " anti-slavery associations ; in
those palmy days of slavery, no small portion of the southern
militia were withdrawn from the defence of the country to pro
tect the slave-holders from the vengeance of their own bond
men ! This you would be assured was abohtion slander, were
46

538 jay's WORKS.
not the fact recorded in the national archives. The Secret Jour
nal of Congress (Vol. I, p. 105) contains the following re
markable and instructive record :
"March 29th, 1779. — The committee appointed to take into consid
eration the circumstances of the Southern States, and the ways and
means for their safety and defence, report, That the State of South
Carolina (as represented by the delegates of the said State, and by
Mr. Huger, who has come hither at the request of the Governor of
said State, on purpose to explain the particular circumstances thereof,)
is unable to make any effectual efforts with rnilitia, by reason of the
great proportion of [citizens necessary to remain at home, to prevent
insurrection among the negroes, and to prevent the desertion of them
to the enemy. That the state of the country, and the great number
of these people among them, expose the inhabitants to great danger,
from the endeavors of the enemy to excite them to revolt or desert."
At the first census, in 1790, eleven years after this report,
and when the slaves had unquestionably greatly increased their
numbers, they were only 107,094 fewer than the whites. If,
then, these slaves exposed their masters " to great danger," and
the militia of South Carolina were obhged to stay at home to
protect their families, not from the foreign invaders, but the
domestic enemies, what would be the condition of the little
blustering nullifying State, with a foreign army on her shores,
and 335,000 slaves ready to aid it, while her own white popu
lation, militia and all, is but as two whites to three blacks ?
Slave-holders, in answer to the abohtionists, are- wont to
boast of the fidelity and attachment of their slaves ; among
themselves they freely avow their dread of these same faithful
and attached slaves, and are fertile in expedients to guard
against their vengeance.
It is natural that we should fear those whom we are conscious
of having deeply injured, and all history and experience testify
that fear is a cruel passion. Hence the shocking severity with
which, in all slave countries, attempts to shake off an unrighteous
yoke are punished. So late even as 1822, certain slaves in
Charleston were suspected oi an intention to rise and assert their
freedom. No overt act was committed, but certain blacks were
found who professed to testify against their fellows and some
it is said, confessed their intentions.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 539
On this ensued one of the most horrible judicial butcheries on
record. It is not deemed necessary, in the chivalrous Palmetto
State, to give grand and petit juries the trouble of indicting and
trying slaves, even when their lives are at stake. A court, con
sisting of two justices of the peace and five freeholders, was
convened for the trial of the accused, and the following were
the results of their labors : —
July 2  6 hanged,
« 12  2 "
« 26  22 "
« 30  4 "
August 9  1 "
Total  35 "
Now let it be remembered that this sacrifice of human life
was made by one of the lowest tribunals in the State ; a
tribunal consisting of two petty magistrates and five freeholders,
appointed for the occasion, not possessing a judicial rank, nor
professing to be learned in the law ; in short, a tribunal which
would not be trusted to decide the title to an acre of ground —
we refer not to individuals composing the court, but to the court
itself; — a court which has not power to take away the land of
a white man, hangs black men by dozens !
Listen to the confessions of the slave-holders with regard to their
happy dependents ; the men who are so contented under the
patriarchal system, and whose condition might well excite the
envy of northern laborers, " the great democratic rabble."
Governor Hayne, in his message of 1833, warned the South
Carolina Legislature, that "a state of military preparation
must always be with us a state of perfect domestic security. A
profound peace, and consequent apathy, may expose us to the
danger of domestic insurrection." .So it seems the happy slaves
are to be kept from insurrection by a state of military prepara
tion. We have seen that, during the revolutionary war, the
Carolina militia were kept at home watching the slaves,
instead of meeting the British in the field ; but now it seems

540 jay's works.
the same task awaits the militia in a season of profound peace.
Another South Carolian* admonishes his countrymen thus :
" Let it never be forgotten that our negroes are truly the Jacobins
of the country ; that they are the anarchists, and the domestic enemy,
THE COMMON ENEMY OF CIVILIZED SOCIETY, AND THE BARBARI
ANS WHO WOULD, IF THEY COULD, BECOME THE DESTROYERS OF
OUR RACE."
Again, " Hatred to the whites, with the exception, in some cases, of
attachment to the person and family of the master, is nearly universal
among the black population. We have then a foe, cherished in our
very bosoms — a foe willing to draw our life-blood whenever
the opportunity is offered ; in the mean time intent on doing us all the
mischief in his power." Southern Religious Telegraph.
In a debate in the Kentucky Legislature, in 1841, Mr.
Harding, opposing the repeal of the law prohibiting the im
portation of slaves from other States, and looking forward to
the time when the blacks would greatly out-number the whites,
exclaimed :
" In such a state of things, suppose an insurrection of the slaves to
take place. The master has become timid and fearful, the slave bold
and daring — the white men, overpowered with a sense of superior
numbers on the part of the slaves, cannot be embodied together ; every
man must guard his own hearth and fireside. No man would even dare
for an hour to leave his own habitation ; if he did, he would expect on
his return to find his wife and children massacred. But the slaves,
with but little more than the shadow of opposition before them, armed
with the consciousness of superior force and superior numbers on their
side, animated with the hope of liberty, and maddened with the spirit
of revenge, embody themselves in every neighborhood, and furiously
march over the country, visiting every neighborhood with all the
horrors of civil war and bloodshed. And thus the yoke would be
transferred from the black to the white mant and the master fall a
bleeding victim to his own slave."
Such arex the terrific visions which are constantly presenting
themselves to the affrighted imaginations of the slave-holders;
such the character which, among themselves, they attribute to
their own domestics.
Attend to one more, and that one an extraordinary confession :
"We of the South are emphatically surrounded by a dangerous
class of beings — degraded and stupid savages, who, if they could but
* The author of " A Refutation of the Calumnies inculcated against the
Southern and Western States."

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 541
once entertain the idea that immediate and unconditional death would
not be their portion, would re-act the St. Domingo tragedy. But a
consciousness, with all their stupidity, that a ten-fold force, superior
in discipline, if not in barbarity, would gather from the four corners of
the United States, and slaughter them, keeps them in subjection. But
to the non-slaveholding States particularly, are we indebted for a per
manent safeguard against insurrection. Without their assistance, the
white population of the South would be too weak to quiet the innate
desire for liberty, which is ever ready to act itself out with every
rational creature." Maysville Intelligencer.
And now we ask you, if all these declarations and confessions
be true, — and who can doubt it ? — what must be their inevita
ble condition, should their soil be • invaded by a foreign foe,
bearing the standard of emancipation ?
In perfect accordance with the above confession, that to the
non-slaveholding States the South is indebted for a permanent
safeguard against insurrection, Mr. Underwood, of Kentucky,
uttered these pregnant words in a debate, in 1842, in Congress :
"The dissolution of the Union will be the dissolu
tion OF SLAVERY."
The action of the Federal Government is, we know, controlled
by the slave interest ; and what testimony does that action bear
to the military weakness of the South ? Let the reports of its
high functionaries answer.
The Secretary of War, in his report for 1842, remarked :
" The works intended for the more remote southern portion of our
territory, particularly require attention. Indications are already made
of designs of the worst character against that region, in the event of
hostilities from a certain quarter, to which we cannot be insensible."
The Secretary's fears had been evidently excited by the or
ganization of black regiments in the British West Indies, and
the threats of certain English writers, that a war between the
two countries would result in the liberation of the slaves. The
report from the Quarter-Master, General Jessup, a southern
man, betrays the same anxiety, and in less ambiguous terms :
" In the event of a war," says he, " with either of the great European
powers possessing colonies in the West Indies, there will be danger
of the peninsula of Florida being occupied by BLACKS from the
Islands. A proper regard for the security of our Southern States
requires that prompt and efficient measures be adopted to prevent
such a state of things." 46»

542 The Secretary of the Navy, a slave-holder, hints his fears in
cautious circumlocution. Speaking of the event of a war with
any considerable maritime power, he says :
" It would be a war of incursions aimed at revolution. The first
blow would be struck at us through our institutions ; " he means, of
course, " the peculiar institution:" He then proceeds to show that the
enemy would seek success " in arraying what are supposed to be the
hostile elements of our social system against each other;" and he
admits, that " even in the best event, war on our soil would be the
more expensive, the more embarrassing, and the more horrible in
its effects, by compelling us at the same time to oppose an enemy in
the field, and to guard against all attempts to subvert our social system."
In plain language, an invading enemy would strike the first
blow at the slave system, and thus aim at revolution, — a revo
lution that would give liberty to two and a half millions of
human beings ; and such a war would be very embarrassing
to the slave-holders, and the more horrible, because, as formerly
in South Carolina, a large share of their military force would
necessarily be employed, not in fighting the enemy, but in guard
ing the social, that is, the " patriarchal system."
No persons are more sensible of their hazardous situation
than the slave-holders themselves, and hence, as is common with
people who are secretly conscious of their own weakness, they
attempt to supply the want of strength by a bullying insolence,
hoping to effect by intimidation what they well know can be
effected in no other way. This game has long been played, and
with great success, in Congress. It has been attempted in our
negotiations with Great Britain, and has signally failed.
The slave-holders, whatever may be their vaunts, are con
scious of their military weakness, and shrink from any contest
which may cause a foreign army to plant the standard of eman
cipation upon their soil. The very idea of an armed negro
startles their fearful imaginations. This is disclosed on innu
merable occasions, but was conspicuously manifested in a debate
in the Senate. In July, 1842, a bill to regulate enlistments in
the naval service being under consideration, Mr. Calhoun pro
posed an amendment, that negroes should be enlisted only as
cooks and stewards. He thought it a matter oi great consequence
not to admit blacks into our vessels of national defence. Mr.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 543
Benton thought all arms, whether on land or sea, ought to be
borne by the white race.
Mr. Bagby : — " In the southern portion of the Union, the
great object was to keep arms and a knowledge of arms out of
the hands of the blacks. The subject addressed itself to every
southern heart. Self-preservation was the first law of nature,
and the South must look to that."
On the motion of Mr. Preston, the bill was so amended as
to include the army.
And think you that men, thus in awe of their own dependents,
shuddering at a musket in -the hands of a black, and with a popu
lation of two millions and a half of these dreaded slaves, will
expose themselves to the tremendous consequences of a union
between their domestic and foreign enemies ? Of the four who
voted against the British treaty, probably not one would have
given the vote he did, had he not known to a certainty that the
treaty would be ratified.
Think not we are disposed to ridicule the fears of the slave
holders, or to question their personal courage. God knows their
perils are real, and not imaginary ; and who can question, that
with a hostile British army in the heart of Virginia or Alabama,
the whole slave-region would presently become one vast scene of
horror and desolation? Heretofore the invaders of our soil
were themselves interested in slave property ; now they would
be zealous emancipationists, and they would be accompanied by
the most terrific vision which could meet the eye of a slave
holder, regiments of black troops, fully equipped and disciplined.
Surely such a state of things might well appall the bravest
heart, and palsy the stoutest arm.
We have called your attention to the practical influence of
slavery on various points deeply affecting the public prosperity
and happiness. These are :
1. Increase of population. 7. Disregard for human life.
2. State of education. 8. Disregard for constitutional
3. Industry and enterprise. obligations.
4. Feeling towards the laboring 9. Liberty of speech.
classes. 10. Liberty of the press.
5. State of religion. 11. Military weakness.
6. State of morals.

544 jax's WORKS.
You will surely agree with us, that in many of these particu
lars, the southern States are sunk far below the ordinary condi
tion of civilized nations.
Let us inquire whether the inferior and unhappy condition of
the slave States can be ascribed to any natural disadvantage, or
to any partial or unjust legislation by the Federal Government.
In the first place, the slave States cannot pretend that they
have not received their full share of .the national domain, and
that the narrowness of their territorial limits has retarded the
development of their enterprise and resources. The area of the
slave States is nearly double that of the free. New York has
acquired the title of the Empire State ; yet she is inferior
in size to Virginia, Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana, or North
Carolina. Nor can it be maintained that the free States are in advance
of the slave States, because from an earlier settlement they had
the start in the race of improvement. Virginia is not only the
largest, but the oldest settled State in the confederacy. She,
together with Delaware, Maryland, North Carohna and South
Carolina, were all settled before Pennsylvania.
Nor will any slave-holder admit, that Providence has scattered
his gifts with a more sparing hand at the South than at the
North. The richness of their soil, the salubrity of their climate,
the number and magnitude of their rivers, are themes on which
they delight to dwell. Hence the moral difference between the
two sections of our republic must arise from other than natural
causes. It appears also that this difference is becoming wider
and wider. Of this fact we could give various proofs ; but let
one suffice.
At the first census in 1790, the free population of the
present free States and Territories was  1,930,125
Of the slave States and Territories,- •  1,394,847
Difference,  535,278
By the last census, 1840, the same population in the
free States and Territories was  9 782 415
In the slave States and Territories  4 793738
Difference,  4,988,677

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 545
Thus it appears that in 1790 the free population of the South
was seventy-two per cent, of that of the North, and that in
1840 it was only forty-nine per cent. ; while the difference in
1840 is more than nine times as great as it was in 1790.
Fifty years have given the North an increased preponderance
of about four and a half millions of free citizens. Another fifty
years will increase this preponderance in a vastly augmented
ratio. And now we ask you, why this downward course ? Is
it because the interests of the slave-holders are not represented
in the national councils ? Let us see. We have already shown
you that the free population is only forty-nine per cent, of that
of the northern States ; that is, the inhabitants of the free
States are more than double the free inhabitants of the slave
States. Now, what is the proportion of members of Congress
from the two sections ?
In the Senate, the slave States have precisely as many as the
free ; and in the lower House, their members are sixty-five per
cent, of those from the free States.*
The Senate has a veto on every law ; and as one half of that
body are slave-holders, it follows, of course, that no law can be
passed without their consent. Nor has any bill passed the Sen
ate since the organization of the government, but by the votes
of slave-holders. It is idle, therefore, for them to impute their
depressed condition to unjust and partial legislation, since they
have from the very first controlled the action of Congress. Not
a law has been passed, not a treaty ratified, but by their votes.
Nor is this all. Appointments under the Federal Govern
ment are made by the President, with the consent of the Senate,
and of course the slave-holders have, and always have had, a
veto on every appointment. There is not an officer of the Fed
eral Government to whose appointment slave-holding members
of the Senate have not consented. Yet all this gives but an
inadequate idea of the political influence exercised by the people
of the slave States in the election of President, and consequently
over the policy of his administration. In consequence of the
* 135 from the free and 88 members from the slave States. According to
free population, the South would have only 66 members.

546 jay's works.
peculiar apportionment of Presidential electors among the States,
and the operation of the rule oi federal numbers — whereby,
for the purpose of estimating the representative population,
five slaves are counted as three white men — most extraordinary
results are exhibited at every election of President In the
election of 1848, the electors chosen were 290; of these 169
were from the free, and 121 from the slave States.
The popular vote in the free States was 2,029,551, or one
elector to 12,007 voters.
The popular vote in the slave States was 845,050, or one
elector to 7,545 voters.*
Even this disproportion, enormous as it is, is greatly aggra
vated in regard to particular States.
New York gave 455,761 votes, and had 36 electors.
Virginia ~)
Maryland >• gave 242,547 " " 36 "
N. Carolina)
Ohio gave 328,489 » " 28 "

Delaware Georgia
LouisianaAlabamaArkansasFlorida
Texas

gave 237,811 " " 38

These facts address themselves to the understanding of all,
and prove, beyond cavil, that the slave States have a most unfair
and unreasonable representation in Congress, and a very dispro
portionate share in the election of President.
Nor can these States complain that they are stinted in the
distribution of the patronage of the national government. The
rule of federal numbers, confined by the Constitution to the
apportionment of representatives, has been extended, by the
influence of the slave-holders, to other and very different sub
jects. Thus, the distribution among the States of the surplus
revenue, and of the proceeds of the public lands, was made
according to this same iniquitous rule.
"South Carolina had nine electors, chosen by the Legislature These are
deducted in the calculation. ' ¦"•"°",c alt

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 547
It is not to be supposed that the slave-holders have failed to
avail themselves of their influence in the Federal Government.
A very brief statement will convince you, that if they are now
feeble and emaciated, it is not because they have been deprived
of their share of the loaves and fishes.
By law, midshipmen and cadets, at West Point, are appointed
according to the federal ratio; thus have the slave-holders
secured to themselves an additional number of officers in the
army and navy, on account of their slaves.
Reflect for a moment on the vast patronage wielded by the
President of the United States, and then recollect, that should
the present incumbent (General Taylor) serve his full term, the
office will have been filled no less than fifty-two years out of
sixty-four by slave-holders ! *
Of twenty-one Secretaries of State, appointed up to 5th of
March, 1849, only six have been taken from the free States.
For thirty-seven years out of sixty the chair of the House of
Representatives has been filled, and its committees appointed by
slave-holders. Of the Judges of the Supreme Court, eighteen have been
taken from the slave, and but fourteen from the free States.
In 1842, the United States were represented at foreign courts
by nineteen Ministers and Charges d' Affaires. Of these fat
offices, no less than thirteen were assigned to slave-holders !
Surely, surely, if the South be wanting in every element of
prosperity — if ignorance, barbarity and poverty be her charac
teristics, it is not because she has not exercised her due influence
in the general government, or received her share of its honors
and emoluments.
prospects for the future.
If, then, with all the natural and political advantages we have
enumerated, the progress of the slave States is still downward,
and has been so, compared with the other sections of the country,
since the first organization of the Government, what are the
* Except one month by General Harrison.

548 jay's works.
anticipations of the distant future, which sober reflection au
thorizes us to form ? The causes which now retard the increase
of their population must continue to operate, so long as slavery
lasts. Emigrants from the North, and from foreign countries,
will, as at present, avoid their borders, within which no attrac
tions will be found for virtue and industry. On the other hand,
many of the young and enterprising will flee from the lassitude,
the anarchy, the wretchedness engendered by slavery, and seek
their fortunes in lands where law affords protection, and where
labor is honored and rewarded.
In the meantime, especially in the cotton States, the slaves
will continue to increase in a ratio far beyond the whites, and
will at length acquire a fearful preponderance.
At the first census, in every slave State there was a very large
majority of whites ; now, the slaves out-number the whites in
South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and the next census
will unquestionably add Florida and Alabama, and probably
Georgia, to the number of negro States.
And think you that this is the country, and this the age, in
which the republican maxim that the majority must govern,
can be long and barbarously reversed ? Think you that the
majority of the people in the cotton States, cheered and en
couraged as they will be by the sympathy of the world, and the
example of the West Indies, will forever tamely submit to be
beasts of burden for a few lordly planters ? And remember, we
pray you, that the number and physical strength of the negroes
will increase in a much greater ratio than that of their masters.
In 1 700 the whites were to the slaves in
N. Carolina as  2.80 to 1, now as 1.97 to 1
S.Carolina,  1.31 to 1, " .79 to 1
Georgia,  1.76 to 1, " 1.44 to 1
Tennessee,  13.35 to 1, " 3.49 to 1
Kentucky,  5.16 to 1, " 3.23 to 1
Maryland and Virginia, the great breeding States, have
reduced their stock within the last few years, having been
tempted, by high prices, to ship off thousands and tens of thou
sands to the markets of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 549
But these markets are already glutted, and human flesh has
fallen in value from fifty to seventy-five per cent. Nor is it
probable that the great staple of Virginia and Maryland will
hereafter afford a bounty on its production. In these States
slave-labor is unprofitable, and the bondman is of but httle
value, save as an article of exportation. The cotton cultivation
in the East Indies, by cheapening the article, will close the
markets in the South, and thus it guarantees the abolition of
slavery in the breeding States. When it shall be found no
longer profitable to raise slaves for the market, the stock on hand
will be driven South and sold for what it may fetch, and free
labor substituted in its place. This process will be attended
with results disastrous to the cotton States. To Virginia and
Maryland, it will open a new era of industry, prosperity and
wealth ; and the industrious poor, the " mean whites " of the
South, will remove within their borders, thus leaving the slave
holders more defenceless than ever.
And what will be the condition of such of the poor whites as
shall then remain in the slave States ? The change to which
we have referred will necessarily aggravate every present evil.
Ignorance, vice, idleness, lawless violence, dread of insurrection,
anarchy, and a haughty and vindictive aristocracy will all com
bine with augmented energy in crushing them to the earth.
And from what quarter can they look for redemption ? Think
you the planting nobility will ever grant freedom to then serfs,
from sentiments of piety or patriotism ? Remember that the
clergy of all sects and ranks, many of them " Christian brokers
in the trade of blood," unite in bestowing their benedicton on
the system as a Christian institution, and in teaching the slave
holders that they wield the whip as European monarchs the
sceptre, " by the grace of God." Remember that the beautiful
and affecting contrast between the prosperity of the North and
the desolation of the South, already presented to you, was drawn
by W. C. Preston, oi hanging notoriety. The great slave-holders
have no idea of surrendering the personal importance and the
political influence they derive from their slaves. The Calhouns,
Footes, and Prestons, all go for everlasting slavery.
47

550 jay's works.
Unquestionably there are many of the smaller slave-holders
who would embrace abolition sentiments, were they permitted
to examine the subject; but at present they are kept in igno
rance. If, then, the fetters of the slave are not to be broken by
the master, by whom is he to be liberated ? In the course of
time, a hostile army, invited by the weakness or the arrogance
of the South, may land on her shores. Then, indeed, emanci
pation will be given, but the gift may be bathed in the blood of
the whites and of their children. Or" the people — for they
will be the people — may resolve to be free, and the dearest
interests of thousands may be sacrificed in the contest.
Such, inhabitants of New Mexico and California, is the de
testable institution which a few haughty and selfish men are
endeavoring to force upon you in order to augment their own
political power, and to open new markets for their human cattle ;
and such are the calamities which their success will entail upon
you and your posterity for ages to come. Every dictate of
patriotism and of Christian benevolence impels us to resist to the
uttermost the extension of this abomination of desolation over
the new, fair, and vast addition recently made to our Federal
Union. Much as we may prize this splendid acquisition, may it
be forever lost to us rather than it should be converted by the
American people into a region of ignorance, vice, misery, and
degradation by the establishment of human bondage. We wish
you to be a free and happy portion of our great Republic, but if
the condition of your union with us be your submission to the
mandates of the slave-holders, we counsel you, we implore you,
by all your obligations to your God, yourselves, your children,
and to the opinions of the world, to spurn the loathsome, the sin
ful condition. You have all the elements essential to the crea
tion of a great, prosperous, and independent empire. If you
cannot be free, happy, and virtuous in union with us, be free,
happy, and virtuous under a government of your own. But you
are not reduced to such an alternative. The slave-holders have
refused you a territorial government — form one for yourselves,
and declare that no slave shall taint the air you breathe. Let no
feudal lord with his hosts of serfs come among you to rob you of

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA. 551
your equal share of the rich deposits of your soil — tolerate no
servile caste, kept in ignorance and degradation to minister to
the power and wealth of an oppressive aristocracy. Be firm and
resolute in declaring for independence, unless exempted from the
curse of slavery, and the whole North will rally in your behalf.
The slave-holders are losing their influence, and are divided
among themselves, while their northern allies, withering under
the scorn of public opinion, are daily deserting their standard.
Be true to yourselves, and your northern friends will be true to
you, and ere long you will be received into the Union on the
same liberal, safe, and honorable terms on which your neighbors
of Oregon have already been admitted. A glorious future of
power, opulence, and happiness opens before you. Up, quit
yourselves like men, and may the favor of God and the blessings
of generations to come rest upon you.
New York, August, 1849.

LETTER
TO HON. WILLIAM NELSON, M. C.
ON MR. CLAY'S COMPROMISE.

New York, February 11, 1850.
My Dear Sir: — As one of your immediate constituents,
permit me to express to you my views on the resolutions lately
submitted to the Senate by Mr. Clay. They are skilfully drawn,
and their true import seems to me to be generally misunderstood,
and in many instances intentionally misrepresented. Various con
siderations combine to render these resolutions acceptable to that
class of our northern pohticians, who are anxious to be popular
at home, without forfeiting their share of the patronage which is
dispensed at Washington, by the slave power. The resolutions
are eight in number, and I will examine them in their order.
1. This proposes the admission of Cahfornia as a State, with
out the imposition by Congress of any restriction on the subject
of slavery, and " with suitable boundaries." These words imply
that the present boundaries are unsuitable, and must be altered.
Let me now call your attention to the true reason for this reserv
ation about boundaries, and respecting which the resolution is
47*

554 jay's works.
silent. During the war, and before the cession of any territory,
the House of Representatives passed the Wilmot Proviso, pro
hibiting slavery in all the territory that might be acquired. On
this, the South, with one voice, declared that they would not
submit to the exclusion of slavery south of 36° 30'. The Legis
lature of Alabama resolved that they would not recognize
" any enactment of the Federal Government which has for its
object the prohibition of slavery in any territory to be acquired
by conquest or treaty south of the line of the Missouri com
promise." At a public meeting in Charleston, and at which I
believe Mr. Calhoun was present, it was resolved that it would
be debasing and dishonorable to submit to the prohibition of
slavery " beyond what is already yielded by the Missouri com
promise ; " and innumerable have been the offers and efforts of
southern politicians to extend the compromise line to the Pacific.
Hence it is not the exclusion of slavery in California to the
north of that line, that offends the South ; and to admit this anti-
slavery State, bounded on the south by 36° 30', is doing no more
than what the South has consented should be done, and is in no
sense a compromise. But the free State of California extends
south oi this line, and hence her southern boundary is unsuitable,
and hence Mr.' Clay's resolution makes a tacit provision for de
priving the State of so much of her territory as his southern
friends have resolved shall not be consecrated to freedom. Mr.
Foote, of Mississippi, observed in relation to this very resolution,
" I see no objection to admitting all Cahfornia above the line of
36° 30' into the Union, provided another new slave State be
laid off within the present limits of Texas." To this laying off
another new slave State, Mr. Clay's compromise opposes no ob
stacle ! Had Mr. Clay proposed the admission of California
with its " present boundaries," his offer would so far have been
a compromise, as to concede something to freedom as a consid
eration for the surrender of the Wilmot Proviso.
2. The next resolution declares, that "as slavery does not
exist by law, and is not likely to be introduced " into any of the
conquered territories, they should be organized under territorial

MR. CLAY'S COMPROMISE. 555
governments, without any restriction on the subject of slavery.
The proposed assertion by Congress that slavery does not exist
by law in the territories, is hailed as an all-sufficient balm to the
consciences of those who recoil with horror at the idea of being
in any degree responsible for the extension of human bondage.
And what, let me ask, is this declaration, but the enunciation of
a bald truism ? We all know there is no law, Mexican or
American, recognizing slavery in the territories. Mr. Clay
adroitly avoids drawing any inference from this acknowledged
fact, but expects the good people of the North will draw for
themselves the inference, that because slavery does not exist by
law, therefore it is prohibited by law. Property in elephants
does not exist by law, in New York, but still it exists, because
it is not prohibited by law. Mr. Clay well knows that Mr. Cal
houn and the great mass of the slave-holders contend that in ihe
absence of a prohibitory law, men, women and children, as well
as horses and sheep, may be held as property in any territory in
the United States ; and this doctrine Mr. Clay himself nowhere
denies. Nay, further, Mr. Calhoun insists, and I believe truly,
that slavery never has been established by law in any country —
that after property in man has been acquired, then, and not
before, laws are passed to protect it. The slave-holders ask for
no act of Congress authorizing them to carry their property into
the territories. All they ask is that no prohibitory law shall be
passed, and then they will carry their slaves where they please,
and keep them by their own strong hand without law, till in
their territorial legislatures they shall pass such laws on the
subject as they shall find needful. Not a word in Mr. Clay's
compromise contravenes this legal theory, or prevents its reduc
tion to practice. Slavery did once exist by law in these terri
tories ; why does it not now ? Mr. Clay answers the question
by telling us that Mexican law abolished it. Now he perfectly
well knows that the Mexican law not only abolished but prohib
ited slavery. If that law was repealed by the conquest, then
the old law was revived, and slavery does now exist by law. If
the law was not repealed by the conquest, then the law is still
in force, and slavery is now prohibited by law. Why, then does

556 jay's works.
not Mr. Clay fairly and honestly declare that slavery is now
prohibited by law ? Because this would indeed be a compromise,
and would render the Proviso nugatory, and would secure the
territories from the curse of slavery. The very omission of such
a declaration implies a denial of an existing prohibition, and in
such denial he well knows the whole South concurs. So far'
then, is Mr. Clay's inconsequential truism from being a com
promise, that it surrenders to the South even more than she has
demanded, and throws open to the slave-holders the whole terri
tory north as well as south of the Missouri line. But to recon
cile the North to this total surrender, they are to be favored by
Congress with the opinion that it is not likely that slavery
will be introduced into any part of the conquered territory.
What is only improbable, is at least possible, and hence this
legislative opinion would, in fact, be a solemn and official decla
ration, that there is no legal prohibition to the introduction of
slavery. It is not pretended that this opinimi which Congress
is to volunteer, is to have any legal force whatsoever. But
what if time shall prove the opinion to have been erroneous ;
will it be any consolation to the North for having by their act
blighted regions with human bondage, that they had been fooled
by an opinion ?
Mr. Downs, of Louisiana, in reply to Mr. Clay, asserted that
there were already in the territories " some four or five hun
dred slaves ; " and another member declared that there would
now have been plenty of slaves there had not their masters been
apprehensive of the Proviso. If Mr. Clay is correct in his
opinion, the slave-holders have been strangely mistaken. It
was openly avowed during the war, that the territory to be con
quered south of 36° 30' would be a slave region. Before our
army entered the city of Mexico, we were offered all Texas
proper, and the whole of New Mexico and California north of
thirty-seven degrees, an extent of territory equal to nine States
of the size of New York. The offer was rejected, and thousands
were slaughtered to obtain territory south of 36° 30', to be peo
pled with slaves. From the first mention of the Proviso, our
northern editors and politicians in the slave interest opposed it

MR. CLAY'S COMPROMISE. 557
as unnecessary, because, as they assured us, the soil and climate
of these territories were unsuitable to slave labor. The slave
holders knew better, and never endorsed the falsehood of their
allies. Mr. Waddy Thompson, of South Carolina, Minister to
Mexico, announced to his brethren, writing of California, " Sugar,
rice and cotton find there their own congenial chme." Recol
lections of Mexico, p. 234.
Did the South make war upon Mexico only to acquire free
territory ? Is she now threatening disunion and civil war for a
privilege she " is not likely " to exercise ?
Upon what does Mr. Clay rest his strange, unnatural opinion ?
Almost exclusively on the exclusion of slavery from the Cah
fornia constitution. He does not pretend that this exclusion
was owing to the unfitness of the soil and chmate for slave labor.
We all know that the unexpected discovery of gold suddenly
collected in California a large northern population, naturally
averse to slavery, and jealous of the competition of slave labor
in digging gold. But does gold exist in Deseret or New Mex
ico ? or is there a large northern population in California, south
of 30° 30' ? Is it logical to infer that slavery is not likely to be
introduced into these territories, even with the sanction of Con
gress, because under totally different circumstances it has been
excluded from California? New Mexico is separated by an
imaginary line from Texas, and about half of it is claimed by
that slave State. Is it likely that Texan slave-holders will not
cross the hue with their property, or occupy territory they claim
as their own ?
The settlers in Deseret have formed a constitution virtually
allowing slavery, by not prohibiting it. The gold diggers in
California are concentrated far north of 36° 30' ; the city of San
Francisco is also north of that line, while south of it is a large
area, where there is little to obstruct the introduction of slavery.
Under these circumstances, there are probably very few men in
Congress who would dare on their oaths, to affirm the opinion
expressed by Mr. Clay. That "opinion is at best a calculation of
chances ; a calculation on which no man would hazard a thousand
dollars ; yet this miserable calculation is offered to the North as

558 jay's works.
a compensation for the surrender of all the political and moral
blessings which the Proviso would secure.
Mr. Clay utterly 'demolishes Gen. Cass's argument against
the constitutionality of the Proviso, and affirms most positively
the right of Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories. But
how stands the question of duty and moral consistency between
these two gentlemen? Undeniably in favor of the General.
He has not, indeed, undertaken to solve the nice and difficult
question, whether human bondage is a curse or a blessing. He
is sensibly alive to the atrocity of flogging two or three Hunga
rian women, but makes no comment on laws which subject thou
sands and tens of thousands of American women to the lash.
He calls upon the nation to express its indignation at the exe
cution of a few Hungarian insurgents taken with arms in their
hands, but gives no opinion how far it would be right or wrong
to shoot certain of his own countrymen, if taken in revolt against
worse than Austrian oppression. But he contends that what
ever may be the moral character of slavery, Congress has no
constitutional right to prohibit it, and therefore ought not to pro
hibit it. On the other hand, Mr. Clay frankly declares that
slavery is wrong, " a grievous wrong," that to propagate slavery
is to propagate wrong. He affirms the constitutional power of
Congress to prohibit this propagation of wrong, and then calls
upon Congress to permit slave-holders to propagate this wrong
when and where they please over the whole wide -extent of our
conquered territory, with the single exception of what may be
included within the State of California. Before God and man,
Gen. Cass's conclusion from his premises is justified, while the
conclusion drawn by Mr. Clay from his premises is condemned
as hostile to morality and humanity.
3. This resolution merely gives to Texas more territory than
she is entitled to, and less than she demands, and is so far a com
promise of territorial claims j but in no degree a compromise
between the friends and enemies of human rights, since what is
to be taken from Texas is to be immediately thrown open to
the slave-holders.

MR. clay's compromise. 559
4. Texas had, before annexation, pledged her duties on for
eign commerce as security to certain creditors. These duties,
by annexation were surrendered to the United States. Mr.
Clay proposes that the United States shall assume the debts due
to these creditors if Texas will relinquish her claims on New
Mexico. If justice requires the nation to assume these debts,
their assumption ought not to depend on the cession of territory
by Texas. If in justice we do not owe these debts, their pay
ment by us will in fact be a gratuity to Texas for the relin
quishment of one of the most impudent and fraudulent claims
ever made. We have official information, communicated by
General Jackson to Congress, that the Texans, when defining
the boundaries of their new-born repubhc, at first determined to
include California ; and beyond all question they had then as
much right to San Francisco as they now have to Santa Fe.
The proposition of Mr. Clay is therefore to pay Texas for
territory to which he admits she has no title, and then to throw
open the territory so purchased to the slave-holders. In this, I
can see no concession to the North.
5. Congress is to declare it inexpedient to abohsh slavery in
the District of Columbia, except. with the assent of Maryland
and the people of the District, and making compensation to the
slave-holders. The unlimited power of Congress to abolish
slavery in the district is fully conceded, yet he calls on Congress
not to do, what many of its members and vast multitudes of
their constituents believe it their moral duty to do. In this
proposal I can find no other compromise but that of conscience.
6. The next proposal is to prohibit the importation of slaves
into the District for sale. In other words, the inhabitants are
to have a monopoly of the trade in human beings. These good
people are not to be deprived of the privilege of importing as
many slaves as they may want for their own use, nor of selling
husbands, and wives, and children, to be transported to the ex
tremities of the Union ; but foreign traders shall no longer be
permitted to glut the Washington market with their wares. The
moment the resolution passes, human chattels will rise in value

560 jay's works.
in the capital of our Repubhc. I object not to the abolition of
the trade, since it will remove one of the many abominations
with which slavery has disgraced the seat of our national gov
ernment ; but I deny that the proposition involves the slightest
concession on the part of the slave-holders. Says Mr. Clay
himself, "Almost every slave-holding State in the Union has ex
ercised its power to prohibit the introduction of slaves as mer
chandise." The power is exercised or not, according to conve
nience, and as it is thought most profitable to breed or to import
slaves. 7. We now come to a grand specific for giving ease to north
ern consciences, for allaying all irritation, and for restoring a
general healthful action throughout the present morbid system
of the confederacy ! I will give the recipe in full : "Resolved,
That more effectual provision ought to be made by law for the
restitution and delivery of persons bound to service or labor in
any State, who may escape into any other State or territory of
this Union." That I may not be accused of injustice to Mr.
Clay in my subsequent remarks, I will quote from his speech on
this point : "I do not say, sir, that a, private individual is obhged
to make the tour of his whole State, in order to assist the owner
of a slave to recover his property ; but I do say, if he is present
when the owner of a slave is about to assert his rights and regain
possession of his property, that he and every one present, whether
officer or agent of the State government, or private individual,
is bound to assist in the execution of the laws of their country."
" I will go with the farthest senator from the South in this body
to make penal laws to impose the heaviest sanctions upon the
recovery of fugitive slaves, and the restoration of them to their
owners." Such is the panacea, and such is the manner in which our
medical adviser proposes to administer it. He must not be
surprised should some difficulty be experienced in compelling
the patient to swallow the draught.
Mr. Clay has long been a favorer of those field sports in
which the prey is man, and he has the merit, it is believed, of

MR. clay's compromise. 561
being the first to conceive the grand idea of securing a national
intercommunity in these sports, by means of international treaties.
So early as the 19th June, 1826, as Secretary of State, he pro
posed to the British government to throw the Canadas open for
this sport, and in return, to British sportsmen should be accorded
the privilege of hunting West India negroes throughout the
whole extent of the American Republic. But John Bull rejected
the tendered reciprocity, and churlishly replied, " The law of
Parliament gave freedom to every slave who effected his landing
on British ground."-
About the same time we requested from Mexico the boon of
hunting negroes over her wide area. The desired favor was de
nied, but we have since forcibly added almost half her territory
to our own hunting grounds. Of all the game laws in existence,
that of 1793, which regulates the chase of negroes, is the most
horrible ; yet Mr. Clay is dissatisfied with it, and calls upon
Congress to make it " more effectual," and of course more hor
rible. Should a Virginian come to New York in search of his
horse, and find him in possession of another, who claims him as
his property, how is he to recover the animal ? Only by process
of law, and that process requires that a jury of twelve impar
tial men, drawn by lot, shall pass upon the conflicting claims.
Neither party has any choice in selecting the jury, nor can
either establish his claim by his own evidence. But if the Vir
ginian is hunting a man, and sees one that will serve his pur
pose, and who will fetch a thousand dollars in the southern mar
ket, but who~claims to belong to himself, how is he to secure
him ? Why, he may catch his man as well as he can, and with
out warrant may carry him before any justice of the peace whom
for sufficient reasons he may think proper to select, and swear
that the man he has caught is his, and the justice may surrender
the man to perpetual bondage, degradation, and misery. Vari
ous officers besides justices are authorized to act, so that the
Virginian has a wide choice. Surely this is hunting made easy
by law ; but it is not found so easy in practice. Latterly, vari
ous States have prohibited their own officers from assisting in
the chase of human beings, and citizens rarely lend any unpaid
48

562 jay's works.
assistance. Hence a new game law is deemed needful, and Mr.
Clay, as we have seen, is pledged to go with "the farthest
southern senator," the most devoted lover of the sport, to make
it effectual. The Judiciary Committee have accordingly reported
a bill now before the Senate. " I agree," said Mr. Mason, one
of the farthest southern senators, in his speech on this bill (28th
January,) " I agree that the Federal Government has no power
to impose duties of any kind upon officers of State governments as
such." Of course, the obligation imposed by the law of 1793,
upon justices of the peace and other State officers, to catch
slaves, are void, and our northern Legislatures, it is admitted,
have a right to prohibit them from participating in slave hunts.
To obviate this difficulty, it becomes necessary to select other
than State officers to adjudicate upon questions of higher import
than any, with the single exception of life and death, that ever
exercise the talents, learning, virtue, and independence of the
most august tribunals of any civilized country. And who are
the grave and reverend judges appointed by this bill to sit in
judgment on the liberty or bondage of native-born Americans ?
Among these judges are twenty thousand postmasters!
Each one of these new judges is authorized to adjudge any man,
woman, or child, black or white, to be a vendible chattel ; and
this judgment is to be founded on any proof that may be satis
factory to said postmaster, in the words of the bill " either by
oral testimony or by affidavit," nor is the testimony either oral
or by affidavit of the interested claimant excluded ; and from
this judgment there is no appeal ! Slavery is no longer confined
to one color. The southern papers abound with advertisements
offering rewards for fugitive slaves, containing the caution, that
the fugitive will probably attempt to pass for a white person.
A few years since a Maryland slave-holder caught in Philadel
phia a white girl (Mary Gilmore), whom he claimed as his
slave. The case was brought before a Pennsylvania judge, and
occupied two days, and it was proved by most abundant, over
whelming evidence, that the alleged slave was the orphan daugh
ter of poor Irish parents. The mother had died in the
Philadelphia hospital, and the daughter had never been in Mary-

MR. clay's compromise. 563
land. By a pending amendment to this bill, every man and
woman who, prompted by the holiest impulses of our nature,
shall " harbor or conceal " the prey from the hunter, is to be
visited with fine and imprisonment. A few days after Mr. Clay
introduced his resolutions, Bruin and Hill, slave-traders in Alex
andria, wrote a letter, since pubhshed in the newspapers, stating
for the information of a free mother in New York who wished
to redeem her daughter from bondage, that they cannot afford
So sell "the girl Emily for less than eighteen hundred dol
lars." Why tfeis prodigious price ? They add, " We have two
or three offers for Emily from gentlemen from the South. She
is said to be the finest looking woman in this country."
Should this devoted victim escape from her keepers, and be
afterwards found concealed in her mother's house, not only is
ehe to be carried back and subjected to the fate intended for her,
but the mother is liable by the present bill to be sentenced to
pay a fine of five hundred dollars to the United States, to pay
Messrs. Bruin and Hill one thousand dollars for damages, and
be imprisoned six months. We hope, for Mr. Clay's reputation,
no "farthest senator from the south" will ask for heavier pen
alties, for if he does, Mr. Clay is pledged to vote for " the
heaviest sanctions " that may foe proposed. But suppose this
poor girl should find her way to Peekskill, instead of New
York, and in your absence, with bursting heart, ask to be shel
tered in your house from her pursuers. Can you for a single
moment admit the possibility, that your wife, the mother of your
children, could, through fear of the law, so unsex herself, as to
turn the trembling fugitive into the street, to be caught by the
hunters ? A thousand times rather would you see the partner
of your bosom enduring Mr. Clay's " heaviest sanctioas," than
bringing ignoaaimy upon herself, and covering her husband and
children witii shame and confusion of face, by committing a
crime so foul and damnable. Mr. Mason, in his speech, insists
upon the right of the hunter, " to enter peaceably any inclosure or
dwelling where such slave may be found, for the purpose of
taking him." Should this asserted right be incorporated into
ihe compromise bill, then may southern ruffians and northern

564 jay's works.
doughfaces ere long be roaming through our bed-rooms and
ransacking our closets in search of prey. Should an attempt
be made to enforce " the heaviest sanctions " for which Mr.
Clay is ready to vote, he may be assured the prisons in New
York and New England are too few to hold the vast multi
tudes of men and women who would willingly tenant them,
rather than peril their souls by betraying the fugitive or assist
ing in his capture. Mr. Clay very kindly declines requiring
" a private individual to make the tour of Ms whole State " in
search of a slave, but he insists that all who are present when
the game is started, ought to follow the hounds. Could he
but enforce this obligation, we should have some grand turnouts
in New York and New England, some like the one fancied
by the poet :
" Gay luck to our hunters ! how nobly they ride,
In the glow of their zeal and the strength of their pride I —
The priest with his cassock flung back on the wind,
Just screening the politic statesman behind—
The saint and the sinner, with cursing and prayer —
The drunk and the sober ride merrily there.
Oh ! goodly and grand is our hunting to see,
In this 'land of the brave and this home of the free ! '
Right merrily hunting the black man, whose sin
Is the curl of his hair and the hue of his skin !
So speed to their hunting o'er mountain and glen,
Through canebreak and forest — the hunting of men! "
But the Constitution ! This instrument declares in substance
that the fugitive slave shall be delivered up ; but Mr. Clay, I
believe, is the first lawyer who has contended that the obligation
of delivery rests upon " private individuals." Even Mr. Mason,
in his speech, insists that the mandate to deliver up is " addressed
to the jurisdiction of the State into which the fugitive may
escape." Of course, individual citizens, as such, are under no
constitutional obligation to volunteer to catch slaves. But sup
pose a positive law should enjoin each individual to betray or
aid in capturing the fugitive — the question put by the apostles,
when legally forbidden to teach in the name of Jesus, would
then recur : " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken

MR. clay's compromise. 565
unto you more than unto God, judge ye." It is not merely the
right, but the duty of a Christian to refuse an active obedience
to any and every law of man, which he believes contravenes
the commands of his Maker; and then, like the apostles, to
offer no forcible resistance to the penalties attached to his dis
obedience. Mr. Clay may be assured, that the bill of pains and penalties
promised in his seventh resolution, will not have the composing
iafluence he anticipates. Filling our prisons with pious,
benevolent, kind-hearted men and" woman, will have little effect
in suppressing agitation. In his compromising anodyne, Mr.
Clay has omitted an important iugredient. Ample provision is
to be made for the recovery of southern slaves, but none for the
recovery of northern citizens. If the Constitution gives the
southern planter a right to seize his slave in New York or
Massachusetts, equally explicit is the grant to citizens of those
States to enjoy all the rights of citizenship in South Carolina.
Yet, if certain of our citizens) freeholders and electors at home,
think proper to visit that State, a prison is the only dwelling
they are permitted to occupy ; and should the State to which
they belong send an agent to inquire why they are immured in
a jail, and to bring their case before the Supreme Court of the
United States, he is compelled to flee at the hazard of his life !
8. The last item of this grand compromise is virtually a guar
anty that the American slave-trade, vile and loathsome as itis,
shall be held sacred from prohibition or obstruction by the Fed
eral Government for all time to come. The stars and stripes shall
forever protect each coasting vessel that shall be freighted with
human misery and despair, and manacled coffles shall, without
molestation, be driven across the continent from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. The slave-trade in the District, that is, in one single
market, Mr. Clay pronounces "detestable," and talks with
horror of " the corteges which pass along our avenues of manacled
human beings." But why this sudden outburst of indignation
against a lawful commerce ? Is it dishonorable to sell merchan
dise ? Has not Mr. Clay himself proclaimed, " that is property
48»

566 jay's works*
which the law makes property ? *' Why does he dishonor the
Washington man-merchants ? Is it base to buy and sell human
beings ? Mr. Clay forgets that this " detestable trade " is, in
fact, supported by the gentlemen breeders who sell, and the
gentlemen planters who buy. But this trade which is so
" detestable," and these corteges which are so horrible on a very
little scale, are now to assume a national importance, protected
and sanctioned by the government of the whole Republic !
Such, sir, is the magnanimous compromise which so many of
our Whig and Democratic politicians, now that the elections are
over, and the solemn pledges made in favor of the Wilmot
Proviso supposed to be forgotten, are willing to accept as a
mighty boon to human rights, and a mighty barrier against the
further encroachments of the slave power. In my ears the only
language addressed by these eight resolutions, to the North, is
the cry of the horseleech — Give, give. No test can detect in
them, no microscope can make visible the most minute conces
sion to human liberty. Not one single inch of territory does the
proposed compromise secure from slavery that is not already
rescued from its power. Not one single human being will it
save from bondage.
The extension of the Missouri line to the Pacific would at
least have rendered all on the north of it free soil ; but, says
Mr: Clay, most truly, although with a frankness almost insult
ing to the North, " I say, sir, in my place here, that it is much
better for the South that the whole subject should be open on
both sides an imaginary line of 36° 30', than that slavery should
he-interdicted positively north of 36° 30' with freedom to admit
or exclude it south of 36° 30', at the will of the people ! "
But, Mr. Clay exclaimed, " No earthly power could induce
me to vote for the positive introduction of slavery south or north
of that line," and at this heroic avowal the galleries applauded.
But the galleries are not deeply versed in southern tactics.
Mr. Clay need apprehend no coercion to extort his reluctant
vote for a purpose no one desires or demands. The South have
with one voice, denied the power of Congress either to prohibit
or establish > slavery in the territories. Said Mr. King of

MR. clay's compromise. 567
Alabama, in reply, " We ask no act of Congress to carry slavery
anywhere. I believe we (Congress) have just as much right to
prohibit slavery in the territories as to carry it there- We have
no right to do one or the other." Other southern senators
avowed their concurrence in the doctrine advanced by Mr.
King. Hence Mr Clay's defiance of any power on earth to
make him do what nobody wants him to do, was, at least, a
rhetorical flourish.
But if this pretended compromise is, as I contend, a full and
unqualified surrender of all the demands of the North, why did
certain ultra senators object to it ? A show of resistance might
have been deemed politic, as tending to make northern men
suppose there must be something granted to them, although
they could not tell what. It may also suit the party purposes
of some £o prolong the present agitation, that they may manu
facture more patriotism for the southern market ; and, lastly, if
any really wish to form a separate repubhc, in which they
expect to have more power than they now enjoy, they will of
course reject all concessions, however great. But it is incredi
ble that the mere slave-holders, the men who are only anxious
to open new markets for the sale of their stock, and to acquire
more votes in Congress, should be 3verse to a proposition that
offers them all they have ever asked, and all that Congress can
give them, with the exception of the suppression of the right of
petition, and the censorship of the post-office, and these are
not now in issue.
But we are told that unless we yield to the demands of the
slave-holders, they will dissolve the Union. And what are
these demands, which Mr. Clay admits we have full right to
refuse ? Why, that a small body of men, not probably exceed
ing 100,000,* shall be at hberty, for their own aggrandizement,
to blight with the curse of slavery our vast possessions south of
36° 30', and whatever portion of Mexico it shall hereafter be
found convenient to seize. Thus, at a time when cruelty and
* A late census in Kentucky reveals the fact, that the slave-holders in
that_ State own on an average twenty-two slaves. Should this average be
applied to the whole slave region, the number of masters, according to the
census of 1840, cannot exceed 117,000 !

568 „ jay's works.
oppression are elsewhere giving way before the increasing
intelligence and morality of the age, we, the Model Republic,
are to be the instrument of extending over illimitable regions
now free, a despotism more accursed than any other known
throughout the civilized world, — a despotism that not only
enslaves the body, but crushes the intellect through which man
is enabled to, distinguish good from evil, — a despotism that
annihilates all rights, sets at naught all the affections of the
heart, and converts a being made in the image of God into
a soulless machine. Tell me not of exceptions, — of some lucky
chattel, like Mr. Clay's negro, referred to in his speech, who in
his master's well-stored kitchen hugs his chain, laughs, and
grows fat. He is but a vendible commodity, and to-morrow's
sun may behold him toiling under the lash, his wife given to
another, and his children with pigs and mules sold at .auction to
the highest bidder. Tell me not of exceptions, — "the kind
owner " may at any moment be exchanged by death or debts,
for the hardened, remorseless taskmaster, and the law sanctions
every atrocity perpetrated upon the slave.* No, my dear sir, I
cannot give my consent, and I hope it will not be given for me
by my representative, to curse a vast -empire with such an in
stitution, and to doom unborn millions to its unutterable
abominations, even to save our southern brethren from the sin
and folly of founding a new Republic (!) upon the denial of
human rights, and of rendering themselves a byword, a proverb,
and a reproach among all the nations of the earth. I value the
favor of my God and the salvation of- my soul too much to take
*Our doughfaces are always complaining that their employers are slan
dered at the North. Let the employers speak for themselves. In Dev.
Reports, (North Carolina,) p. 263, 1829, we find the case of The State vs.
Mann. The defendant attempted to flog a woman slave whom he had hired ;
she retreated ; he ordered her to come to him, but she continuing to re
treat, he seized his gun, fired at and wounded her. For this he was in
dicted. The Court held that he who hires a slave is, for the time being,
invested with all the powers of the owner himself to enforce obedience, and
that the indictment could not be sustained. Said Judge Ruffin, " The power
of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect.
I most sincerely confess my sense of the harshness of this proposition. I
feel it as deeply as any man can ; and as a principle of moral right, every man
in his retirement must repudiate it. But in the actual state of things it must
be so — there is no remedy. This discipline belongs to slavery."
Verily, we are the people to lecture Austria !

MR. clay's compromise. 569
part or lot in such great wickedness. Most fully do I agree
•with Mr. Clay, that Congress has no more constitutional au
thority over slavery in the States, than in the Island of Cuba ;
and most fully do I agree with the admission in his speech, but
not to be found in his resolutions, of the right of Congress to
exclude slavery from the conquered territories. Hence, in my
opinion, the refusal to exercise this right, even to preserve the
Union, would be a crime in the sight of God and man. I en
tertain no apprehension of the severance of the Union for this
cause, but should the few slave-holders and the vast multitude of
southern people who have no interest in slavery, in their mad
ness separate from us, upon them will rest the sin, and upon
them and their children will fall its punishment. Let us do
what God commands, and leave to Him the consequences.
Yours truly,
William Jay.

A LETTER

TO THE HON. SAMUEL A. ELIOT, REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON, IN REPLY
TO HIS APOLOGY FOR VOTING FOR THE
FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL.

1851.

Sir: —
An English courtier procured a colonial judgeship, for a
young dependant wholly ignorant of law. The new functionary,
on parting with his patron, received from him the following sage
advice, — " Be careful never to assign reasons, for whether your
judgments be right or wrong, your reasons will certainly be
bad." You have cause to regret that some friend had not been
equally provident of your reputation, and intimated that it was
only expected of you to vote for Mr. Webster's measures, but
by no means to assist him in vindicating them. You did, indeed,
vote precisely as those who procured your nomination intended
you should ; yet, on your return home, you found your name
had become a byword and a reproach in your native State.
Another election approached, but you declined submitting your
recent course to the judgment of the electors, and withdrew
from the canvass. But although the people were thus prevented
from voting against you, they persisted in speaking and writing
against you. Anxious to relieve yourself from the load of
obloquy by which you were oppressed, in an evil hour you rashly

572 jay's works.
appealed to the public through the columns of a newspaper, and
gave the " reasons " of your vote for the Fugitive Slave Law.
You had a high and recent example of the kind of logic suited
to your case. You might have indulged in transcendental non
sense, and talked about the climate, soil, and scenery of New
England and the wonders of physical geography, and, assuming
that negroes were created free, you might have contended that,
in voting for a law to catch and enslave them, you had avoided
the folly of reenacting the law of God. Reasons of this sort,
you and others had declared, " had convinced the understanding
and touched the conscience of the nation." Instead of following
an example so illustrious and successful, you assign " reasons "
so very commonplace, that the most ordinary capacity can
understand them, and so feeble, that the slightest strength can
overthrow them.
Your first "reason" is, that the delivery of fugitives is a i
constitutional obligation. By this you mean, that, by virtue of
the construction of a certain clause in the Constitution by the
Supreme Court, Congress has the power to pass a law for the
recovery of fugitive slaves. Well, sir, does this constitutional
obligation authorize Congress to pass any law whatsoever on the
subject, however atrocious and wicked ? Had you voted for a
law to prevent smuggling, in which you had authorized every
tide-waiter to shoot any person suspected of having contraband
goods in his possession, would it have been a good " reason " for
such an atrocity, that the collection of duties was " a constitu
tional obligation ? " You are condemned for voting for an
arbitrary, detestable, diabolical law, — one that tramples upon
the rights of conscience, outrages the feelings of humanity, dis
cards the rules of evidence, levels all the barriers erected by
the common law for the protection of personal Hberty, and, in
defiance of the Constitution, and against its express provisions,
gives to the courts the appointment of legions of slave-catching
judges. And your " reason " for all this is, that the dehvery of
fugitives is " a constitutional obligation ! " The " obligation " is
not in issue. Please to understand, sir, that it is not denied. It
is for the manner in which you profess to have discharged the

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 573
obligation, that you are censured ; and be it remembered, that
not one of the obnoxious provisions of your law is required by
the Constitution. You go on and attempt to enlighten your
constituents as to the history of this constitutional obligation.
As the obligation affords you no apology for the iniquitous
features of your law, its history is, of course, mere surplusage,
and serves no other purpose than to divert the attention of your
readers from yourself. About two thirds of your apology is
.occupied with a historical disquisition, which has as much to do
with your vindication as the question respecting the existence of
a lunar atmosphere. I will not, however, withhold from you
whatever benefit you may derive from either your logic or your
history, but will give each a fair and honest examination. You
inform the public that, at the time the Constitution was formed,
" Slavery had been abolished in some of the States, and still existed \
in others. Here seemed an insurmountable incompatibility of inter- ',
ests, and nothing perplexed the wise men of that day — and they were
very wise men — so much as this topic. At last they agreed that the :
new Constitution should have nothing to do with it ; that the word !
slavery should not be mentioned in it, and that it should be left to the '•
States themselves to establish, retain, or abolish it, just as much after ;
the adoption of the Constitution as before. But in order to secure the
existence of the institution to those- States who preferred it, it was
agreed that the persons escaping from labor to which they were bound, ,
in one commonwealth, and found in another, should be returned to '
the State from which they had fled. The provision was necessary for
the preservation of this interest in statu quo. It did not extend slavery.
It kept it where it already was, and where it could not have continued
if every slave who escaped North was at once free and irreclaimable.
The members of the confederacy from the South saw this distinctly,
and deliberately declared that. they could not and would not enter a
union with States who would tempt away their slaves with the pros
pect of immediate and permanent freedom  The Con
stitution was adopted with this provision, and it could not have been
adopted without it."
Thus we learn from you, sir, that when the Constitution was
formed, " slavery had been abolished in some of the States." It
is a pity you did not vouchsafe to tell us which of the States
had thus early and honorably distinguished themselves. Of the
thirteen American States in 1787, how many, sir, had by law
abolished slavery ? Not one. Your " some States ' consisted
49

574 jay's works.
of Massachusetts alone. And how was slavery - abolished
there ? Not by any express prohibition in her constitution, nor
by any act of her Legislature. Fortunately, her constitution,
like that of most other States, "contained a general declaration
of human rights, somewhat similar to the " rhetorical abstraction "
in the Declaration of Independence. Two or three years before
the Federal Convention assembled, a young lawyer, perceiving
that "the declaration in the constitution had inadvertently made
no exclusion of the rights of men with dark complexions, brought
an action for a slave against his master for work done and per
formed. An upright and independent court, not having the fear
of our southern brethren before their eyes, decided that the
slave was a man, and therefore entitled to the rights which the
constitution declared belonged to all men, and gave judgment
for the plaintiff. In this way, sir, was slavery abolished in
Massachusetts, and hence the delegates from Massachusetts in
the convention were the only ones who represented a, free State.
And now, sir, what becomes of your " insurmountable incompati
bility of interests " arising from the fact that " slavery had been
abolished in some States and still existed in others," which you
tell us so much perplexed the wise men of that day ? We shall
see, sir, that on questions touching human bondage the Massa
chusetts delegation seem to have been slave-holders in heart,
and did not partake of the perplexity which troubled the wise
men. With the exception of that delegation, there were not
probably half a dozen members of the convention who were not
slave-holders. It would seem from your historical review, that the clause in
the Constitution respecting fugitive slaves was the grand com
promise between the North and the South, without which " the
Constitution could not have been adopted ; " and that to this
clause we owe our glorious slave-catching Union. You fortify
this wonderful historical discovery by appealing to the " delib
erate declarations " of southern members, that they " would not
enter a union with States who would tempt away their slaves,"
&c. It is to be regretted that you have not deemed it expedient
to refer to the records of these declarations, as other students of

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 575
our constitutional history are wholly ignorant of them. Suffer
me, sir, to enter into a few historical details, for the purpose of
vindicating the hberty I take to differ with you as to the accu
racy of your statements.
The Convention met in Philadelphia, May, 25, 1787. On
the 29th of the same month, Mr. Randolph, of Virginia, sub
mitted a plan of government. It contained no allusion to
fugitive slaves. On the same day, Mr. Charles Pinckney, of
South Carolina, submitted another plan. This last provided
for the surrender of fugitive criminals, but was silent about
fugitives slaves. On the 15th of June, Mr. Patterson, of New
Jersey, submitted a third plan. This also provided for the
surrender of fugitives from justice, but not from bondage. On
the 18th, Mr. Hamilton announced his plan, but the fugitive
slave found no place in it. On the 26th of June, the Conven
tion, having agreed on the general features of the proposed
Constitution in the form of resolutions, referred them to " a
committee of detail," for the purpose of reducing them to the
form of a Constitution. In this resolutions, there was not the
most distant allusion to fugitive slaves. On the 6th of August,
the committee reported the draft of a Constitution, and yet,
strange as you may deem it, the provision without which, you
tell us, the Constitution could not have been adopted, was not in
it, although there was in it a provision for the surrender of
fugitive criminals. For three months had the Convention been
in session, and not one syllable had been uttered about fugitive
slaves. At last, on the 29th of August, as we learn from the
minutes, " It was moved and seconded to agree to the following proposition,
to he inserted after the 15th article : ' If any person, bound to service
or labor in any of the United States, shall escape into another State,
he or she shall not be discharged from such service or labor in con
sequence of any regulation subsisting in the State to which they
escape, but shall be delivered up to the person justly claiming their
service or labor,' which passed unanimously."
Really, sir, I find in this record hut little evidence of the
perplexity which distressed our wise men, or of the great com
promise between the North and South, on which you dwell.

576 jay's WORKS.
The 15th article, referred to above, was the article providing
for the surrender of fugitives from justice, and this suggested
the idea, that it would be well to provide, also, for the surrender
of fugitive slaves. In an assembly consisting almost exclusively
of slave-holders, the idea was exceedingly relished ; and with
out a word of opposition, the suggestion was unanimously
adopted. From Mr. Madison's report we learn that, the day
before, Messrs. Butler and Pinckney had informally proposed
that fugitive slaves and servants should be delivered up " like
criminals." Mr. Wilson of Penn. : — " This would oblige the Executive of the State
to do it at the public expense. Mr. Sherman, of Conn., saw no more
propriety in the public seizing and surrendering a slave or servant
than a horse." Madison Papers, p. 1447.
The subject was here dropped. The next day the motion was
made in form, and as Mr. Madison says, " agreed to, nem. con."
From the phraseology of the motion, and the objections of
Messrs. Wilson and Sherman, it was perfectly understood that
the obligation of delivery was imposed on the States, and that
no power was intended to be conferred on Congress to legislate
oh the subject. Messrs. Wilson and Sherman's objections
arose from no moral repugnance to slave-catching, but from the
inconvenience they apprehended the State authorities would be
subjected to ; and Mr. Wilson perhaps spoke from experience,
as his own State had at that very time a law for catching and
returning fugitive slaves from other States. The idea, therefore,
that this agreement was a compromise between the North and
South is wholly imaginary, and you, sir, must have mistaken
some recent fulminations from the southern chivalry for the
' deliberate declarations" which you suppose were made in the
Convention. Believe me, sir, no members of the Convention
ever declared they would not enter into the Union, unless it was
agreed to surrender fugitive slaves, for the obvious reason, that
the northern slave-holders required no threats from their
southern brethren to consent to a compact convenient to both.
It is very true, sir, that there were compromises, and that there
were " deliberate declarations," but they had no reference to the

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 577
surrender of runaway slaves. I have pointed out your historical
mistake, not because it has the remotest bearing on your justifica
tion, but because you seem to think that it has.
The first great compromise was between, not the North and
the South, but the small and the large States. The one claimed,
and the other refused, an equality of suffrage in the national
legislature. It was at last agreed, that the suffrage should be
equal in one house, and according to population in the other.
This was the first compromise. Then came the question, What
should constitute the representative population ? The Southern
States had more slaves than the Northern, and the former
insisted that slaves should be included in the representative
population. This would have given the Southern States an
unfair preponderance in Congress. Moreover, a portion of the
Southern States were engaged in the African slave-trade, and,
of course, every slave landed on their shores would increase
their political power in Congress. To reconcile the North to
slave representation, it was offered that direct taxation should
be proportioned to representation. But the North was reluctant,
and, as usual, was bullied into a compromise. Mr. Davie, of
North Carohna, made a " deliberate declaration : '*
" He was sure that North Carolina would never confederate on any
terms that did not rate them (the slaves) at least as three-fifths. If
the Eastern States meant, therefore, to exclude them (the slaves)
altogether, the business was at an end." Madison Papers, p. 1081.
This threat, and others like it, settled the matter. The com
promise, of three-fifths of the slaves to be included in the repre
sentative population, was accepted on the motion of a New
England member ; and the consequence is, that the slave States
have now twenty-one members in the lower house of Congress
more than they are entitled to by their free population. This
was the second compromise. There was still a third, far more
wicked and detestable, and effected by the " deliberate declara
tions " of southern members. The " committee of detail " has
been aheady mentioned. It consisted of Messrs. Rutledge of
South Carolina, Randolph of Virginia, Wilson of Pennsylvania,
Ellsworth of Connecticut, and Gorham of Massachusetts. This
49*

578 jay's WORKS.
committee, it will be recollected, were to reduce to the form of a
Constitution the resolutions agreed on by the Convention.
Neither in the resolutions themselves, nor in the discussions
which preceded their adoption, had any reference been made to
a guaranty for the continuance of the African slave-trade.
Nevertheless, this committee, of their own will and pleasure,
inserted in their draft the following clause :
" No tax or duty shall be laid by the legislature on articles exported
from any State, nor on ihe migration or importation of such persons as
the several States shall think proper to admit, nor shall such migration
or importation be prohibited."
To understand the cunning wickedness of this clause, it must
be recollected that Congress was to have power to regulate for
eign commerce, and commerce between the States ; and hence
it might, at a future time, suppress both the foreign and domestic
commerce in human flesh, or it might burden this commerce
with duties. Hence this artfully expressed perpetual restriction
on the power of Congress to interfere with the traffic in human
beings. As this grand scheme was concocted in the committee,
and not in the Convention, it may be interesting to inquire into
its paternity.'*
In the debates which ensued on this clause, Mr. Ellsworth,
one of the committee who reported it,
"Was for leaving the clause as it now stands. Let every State import
what it pleases. The morality, the wisdom of slavery, are considerations
belonging to the States themselves. What enriches a part enriches
the whole, and the States are the best judges of their particular inter
ests. The old Confederation had not meddled with this point, and he
did not see any greater necessity for bringing it within the policy of
the new one." " As slaves multiply so fast in Virginia and Maryland
that it is cheaper to raise than to import them, whilst in the sickly
rice-swamps foreign supplies are necessary, if we go farther than is
urged [a proposal to permit the trade for a limited time,] we shall
be unjust towards South Carolina and Georgia. Let us not inter
meddle." Madison Papers, pp. 1389, 1391.
This gentleman was one of your " very wise men ; " and his
mantle has recently fallen upon other wise men from the East.
Mr. Wilson, another member of the committee, objected. " All
articles imported," said he, " are to be taxed ; slaves alone are

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 579
exempt. This is, in fact, a bounty on that article." The clause
was referred to another committee, who modified it by limiting
the restriction to 1800. It was moved to guarantee the slave-
trade for twenty years, by postponing the restriction to 1808.
This motion was seconded by Mr. Gorliam, another member of
the committee. Mr. Randolph, also of the committee, was
against the slave-trade, and opposed to any restriction on the
power of Congress to suppress it. Two of the committee, then,
we find, were against the trade, and three, Messrs. Rutledge,
Ellsworth, and Gorham, for perpetuating it. And now, sir,
what were the inducements which prevailed on the two wise
men from the East to yield their consent to a proposition so
wicked and abominable ? We are, of course, not informed what
passed in the committee, but we can well imagine, from the
language used by the chairman and others in the Convention.
Said Mr. Rutledge,
"If the Convention thinks North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Georgia will ever agree to this plan (the Federal Constitution) unless
their right to import slaves be untouched, the expectation is vain.
The people of those States will never be such fools as to give up so
important an interest."
In other words, " Gentlemen of the North, no Union without
the African slave-trade." Said Mr. Charles Pinckney :
'_' South Carolina can never receive the plan (of the Constitution)
if it prohibits the slave-trade. In every proposed extension of the
powers of Congress, that State has expressly and watchfully excepted
that of meddling with the importation of negroes." Madison Pavers.
p. 1389. r '
Mr. Charles C. Pinckney " thought himself bound to declare
candidly, that he did not think South Carolina would stop her
importations of slaves in any short time." Thus you see, sir
that the " deliberate declarations " to which you allude were
made in reference to the continuance of the African slave-trade,
and not, as you suppose, to the catching of fugitive slaves. Two
New England gentlemen of the committee yielded to these
declarations, and sacrificed conscience and humanity for the
sake of the Union, and the consideration that what enriched a

580 jay's works.
part enriched the whole. Happily, in this case, southern bluster
was met by southern bluster, and it is owing to Virginia, and
not to the virtue and independence of New England; that the
Constitution was rescued from the infamy of granting a solemn
and perpetual- guaranty to an accursed commerce.
In Virginia, the slaves, as Mr. Ellsworth remarked, multiplied
so fast, that it was cheaper to raise than import them. She was
then, as now, a breeding State for the southern markets. Hence,
her delegates were as ready to bluster for protection, as the
South Carolina delegates wore for a free trade in men and
women. Of course the motives assigned were patriotic, not
selfish. Mr. Randolph " could never agree to the clause as it
stands. He would .sooner risk the Constitution." Madison
Papers, p. 1396. Mr. Madison would not consent to the con
tinuance of the traffic till 1808.
" Twenty years will produce all the mischief that can be apprehended
from the liberty to import slaves. So long a term will be more dis
honorable to the American character, than to say nothing about it in
the Constitution." Madison Papers, p. 1427.
Mr. Mason from Virginia denounced the traffic as " infernal."
Madison Papers, p. 1390. The result of all these threats on
each side was, as usual, a compromise, by which Congress was
prohibited from suppressing the foreign and internal commerce
in slaves for twenty years, and was left at hberty to do as it
might see fit, after that period. After twenty years the foreign
trade was suppressed, and North and South Carohna and Georgia
remained in the Union ! Virginia, as well as the other slave
States, is greatly interested in the home slave-trade, and that has
not been suppressed, although Congress has full power over it.
It does not appear from Mr. Madison's report what reply was
made in the Convention to the Virginia objections, but in his
speech in the Convention of his own State, he -tells us :
" The gentlemen from South Carolina and Georgia argued in this
manner : We have now liberty to import this species of property, and
much of the property now possessed had been purchased or otherwise
acquired in contemplation of improving it by the assistance of imported
slaves. What would be the consequence of hindering us in this point ?
The slaves of Virginia would rise in value, and we "should be obliged
to go to your markets." Elliott's Debates, HI, p. 454.

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 581
Certainly, sir, these South Carolina and Georgia delegates
were "very wise men," and their predictions are now history,
and the planters of Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and
Louisiana buy slaves of the Virginia breeders. But what
shall I say of the wise men from the East? This horrible
compromise, this guaranty of the African slave-trade for twenty
years, was carried by the votes of the Massachusetts and Con
necticut delegates, and would have been defeated, had they had
the courage and virtue to vote against it,
I have indulged in this long digression, to show that the clause
in the Constitution respecting fugitive slaves was not, as you
represent it, the great compromise of the Constitution, the key
stone of the Union, and that our slave-holding fathers were not,
as you suppose, greatly perplexed, nor their consciences deeply
wounded, by the existence of slavery in all the States of the
confederacy, with one exception. Having disposed of your his
tory, I return to your logic.
Whether the constitutional injunction to surrender fugitive
slaves was a compromise or not, is of no practical importance.
The clause speaks for itself, and prescribes no mode by which
the title of the claimant shall be ascertained, while it expressly
implies that the title shall be established before the surrender is
made. Hence, the fair presumption is, that the title to a man
shall be proved, with at least as much certainty and formality as
the title to a horse. Had you, sir, in your law, provided that a
Virginian shall not come to Boston, and there seize and carry '
off a husband, wife, or child, but by the same process, and on as
strong evidence, as he may now seize and carry off a horse
which you claim as your own, instead of finding your name a
byword and a reproach, you would have been honored and ap
plauded by your fellow-citizens, and returned to Congress by a
triumphant vote ; nor is there a syllable in the Constitution
which prohibits or discountenances such a mode of deciding the
title to a human being. It is in vain, then, sir, that you plead
your " constitutional obligation " in justification of your most
detestable law. But, as if one wrong could justify another, you
plead in your excuse the law of 1793, and you ask in your sim-

582 jay's works.
plicity of those who condemn your law, if they do not perceive
that they are "denouncing their fathers." Well, sir, were our
fathers infallible ? Pity it is, sir, that you were not on the floor
of Congress when that body declared the African slave-trade to
be piracy. You might then, sir, have risen in your place, and
inquired, " Do you Hot perceive that you are denouncing your
fathers, who were very wise men, and who guaranteed for twenty
years the very traffic which you now proclaim to be piracy ? " Pity
it is, sir, that you did not stand by the side of your patron on
Plymouth Rock, and whisper in his ear, " Do you not perceive
that you are denouncing our fathers ? " when he declared, " In
the sight of our law the African slave-trader is a pirate and a
felon, and in the sight of Heaven an offender beyond the ordi
nary depth of human guilt." Mr. Webster is better versed in
constitutional history than you are, and he well knew that some
of our fathers " deliberately declared they would not enter a
Union " in which they were to be debarred from pursuing this
piratical, felonious, guilty traffic. Our fathers were mostly slave
holders, and yet you, sir, unconsciously denounce both their
morality and intelligence, when you affirm the institution of
slavery to be " wrong and unwise." And yet all who presume
to find fault with your cruel, unjust, wicked law, are guilty, for
sooth, of denouncing their fathers !
You tell us that the Convention of 1787 "agreed that the new
Constitution should have nothing to do with slavery." I have
* not been so fortunate as to find the record of this agreement, but
if such a compact was indeed made, then seldom, if ever, has a
solemn covenant been more grossly and wickedly violated. Is
it, sir, in virtue of this agreement, that you voted to fine and im
prison every conscientious, humane citizen who may refuse, at
the command of a minion of a commissioner, to join in a slave
hunt ? Did this agreement confer on the holders of slaves an
enlarged representation in Congress ? Was it in pursuance of
this agreement that the importation of slaves was guaranteed
for twenty years ? Did this agreement authorize the Federal
Government to enter into negotiations with Great Britain and
Mexico for a mutual surrender of runaway slaves ? Was it in

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 583
pursuance of this same agreement, that our government nego
tiated with Russia and Spain to prevent emancipation in Cuba,
— a traitorous conspiracy with despots against the rights of man ?
How, sir, was this agreement illustrated, when Daniel Webster,
as Secretary of State under John Tyler of glorious memory,
made a demand on Great Britain for the surrender of the slaves
of the Creole, who had gallantly achieved their hberty, and taken
refuge in the West Indies ? How comes it, sir, that under this
agreement an act of Congress secures to the slave States officers
in the navy in proportion to the number of their slaves ? How
is it, that under this agreement colored men are seized in the
District of Columbia, under " the exclusive jurisdiction " of the
Federal Government, on the suspicion of being slaves, and when
that suspicion is rebutted by the non-appearance of any claimant,
are sold as slaves for life, to pay their jail fees ? - Perhaps it
would be denouncing our fathers, to say that Messrs. Webster
and Cass may search the archives of Austria in vain for any act
so utterly diabohcal as this, perpetrated by a government which
it was agreed " should have nothing to do with slavery." Was
it to carry out this famous agreement that the Federal Govern
ment officially declared through its Secretary, Mr. Calhoun, that
Texas was annexed to preserve the institution of slavery from
the perils that threatened it ?
Once more, sir. We all know that the slave-holders regard
the free blacks' as dangerous to the subordination of their slaves,
and are contemplating their forcible removal. Think you, sir,
Mr. Webster was mindful of the agreement you have discovered,
when, on the 7th of last March, in his place in the Senate, he
proposed his magnificent scheme of taxing the whole nation un
told millions to give additional security to property in human
beings ?
" If," said the Massachusetts Senator, " any gentleman from the South
shall propose a scheme of colonization to be carried on by this govern
ment upon a large scale, for the transportation of free colored people
to any colony or any place in ihe world, I should be quite disposed to
incur almost any degree of expense to accomplish the object." '

584 jay's works.
The magnitude of the scheme, and the cost at which it is to
be accomplished, are thus hinted :
" There have been received into the treasury of the United States
eighty millions of dollars, the proceeds of the sales of the pubhc
lands ceded by Virginia. If the residue should be sold at the same
rate, the whole aggregate will exceed two hundred millions of
dollars. If Virginia and the South see fit to adopt any proposition to
relieve themselves from the free people of color among them, they have
my free consent that the government shall pay them any sum of money
out of the proceeds which may be adequate for the purpose."
Will you, sir, please to point out the article of the agreement
of 1787, which, while it restricts Congress from having any
thing to do with slavery, sanctions an appropriation not exceed
ing two hundred millions of dollars, for the purpose of strength
ening the institution of slavery, by relieving the slave-holders
from the presence of free people of color, and forcibly transporting
to any place in the world hundreds of thousands of native-born
Americans, who have as good a constitutional right to the
pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness on their native soil, as Mr.
Webster himself? Mr. Webster, it seems, now views the sub
ject of negro colonization in precisely the same light that he
did thirty years since, although his intentions on this, as on vari
ous other points, have undergone marvellous changes. We learn
from a Massachusetts paper (Congregationalist, July 6, 1849,)
that this gentleman was in 1822 appointed by a public meeting to
draft a constitution for the State Colonization Society. After
considerable discussion in the committee he rose and said, " I
must leave. I understand the whole project. It is a scheme of
the slave-holders to get rid of their free negroes. I will have
nothing to do with it."
And how, sir, as a member of Congress, have you fulfilled
this agreement to have nothing to do with slavery ? Not only
have you required " good citizens," when commanded, to hunt
and catch slaves, but you have even fixed a money value on
every slave. If a master fails to recover his fugitive slave
through the agency, " direct or indirect," of any citizen, you
give him an action for damages. In all other cases of trespass,
the damages sustained by the plaintiff are assessed by a jury

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 585
according to the evidence. You kindly save the master the
trouble of proving the value of his lost property, and give him
out of the pockets of the defendant $ 1000, no matter whether
the slave was sick or well, young or old. If a woman escapes
with a child at the breast, the master is to have $2000 ! Rec
ollect, sir, this is for damages to the slave-holder ; the trespasser
is to pay to the government, which was to have nothing to do
with slavery, another thousand dollars, and to be incarcerated
six months. Either, sir, you have wholly mistaken the nature
of the " agreement," or the slave-holders, through the aid of
their northern auxiliaries, have, in defiance of the agreement,
rendered the Federal Government a mighty engine in protect
ing, extending, and perpetuating the stupendous iniquity of
human bondage.
Your first excuse for voting for the. recent slave-catching law,V
after relying on your " constitutional obligation," is, that it is j
"practically more favorable to the fugitive than the law of
1793 ! ! ! " The southern lawyers, then, who drafted the bill,
were a set of blunderers, and your constituents are blockheads
for blaming you for legislating against human rights, when, in
fact, you were loosening the bonds of the oppressed, and facil
itating escape from the prison-house. Your assertion may well
excite astonishment at the South as well as the North, till your
proof is known, and then, indeed, astonishment will be exchanged
for ridicule. You tell us,
" The evidence of such an assertion may be found in the fact, that by
the old law every magistrate in Massachusetts, amounting to several
hundreds, and so in the other States, were authorized and required to
cause the arrest of any fugitive, examine into his case, and deliver him
to the claimant, if he was proved to be a slave ; while under the new
law that power is limited to the justices of the United States courts,
and to the commissioners appointed by them, not exceeding, perhaps,
on an average, six or eight persons in each State."
So it seems the slave-catchers had formerly, no difficulty in
finding a magistrate among hundreds to aid them, but that now,
before they hunt a slave, they must hunt and catch a United
States judge, or a commissioner of six or eight in a whole State.
Truly a hard case, and yet the slave-holders themselves set the
53

586 jay's works.
very trap in which they have been caught, and thus it is that,
through their folly, and your generosity in not pointing out to
them the blunder they were committing, the new law is more
favorable to the fugitive than the old one. Surely, sir, it could
not have been more perilous to the young West Indian judge to
meddle with " reasons," than it is for you. Either, sir, you voted
for the law without reading it, or you have forgotten its provi
sion. Be assured, the southern lawyers were as well acquainted
as yourself with the fact, that a few individuals, termed " com
mission ers,v had been appointed by the United States courts to
perform certain ministerial acts ; and that, as these men were
now to be promoted to the office of slave-catching judges, they
would be wholly inadequate in number to lend efficient aid to
the hunters of men. Hence, they inserted in the third section
of the bill, the following enactment, which has strangely escaped
your recollection, viz. :
" And it is further enacted, that the Circuit Courts of the United
States, and the Superior Courts of each organized Territory of the
United. States, shall from time to time enlarge the number of
COMMISSioneks with a view to afford reasonable facilities to reclaim
fugitives from labor, and to the prompt discharge of the duties imposed
by this act."
So that, instead of six or eight commissioners in a State, we
are to have as many hundreds, if needed. Nor is this all. By
the second section, the power possessed by the Circuit Courts to
appoint commissioners is for the first time conferred on the Ter
ritorial courts, so that there shall be no lack of slave-catching
judges in Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico. Instead of your six
or eight commissioners in a State, your law contemplates that
there shall ;be one or more in each county ; for the fifth section
provides, that " the better to enable the said commissioners to
execute their duties faithfully and efficiently,  they are
hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respec
tively" to appoint one or more persons to execute their warrants.
So it seems we are to have an unlimited number of judges and
executioners. These executioners, expressly appointed to catch
slaves, and of course among the most worthless and degraded of

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 587
the community, are one and all invested with the power of a
high sheriff to call out the posse comitatus, not merely in his
own county, but in every hamlet in the State, and require " good
citizens," under pain of fine and imprisonment, to join him in
his execrable hunt. Really, sir, your " evidence " that the new
law is more favorable to the fugitive than the old one falls short
of demonstration.
You thus apologize for not giving the alleged fugitive a trial
by jury:
" There was no more trial by jury provided for under the old law
than under the new law. The claim of a jury trial is entirely new ;
never thought of till modern discussions of the subject begun. For
fifty-seven years our fathers and we have been living under the laws
which provided no such thing, and now one which makes no such pro
vision is denounced in unmeasured terms as cruel and inhuman. Where
have we all been living for half a century ? "
Surely, sir, it is a most logical reason for not changing a
wicked law, that it has been in force for fifty-seven years.
Strange that the legislators of Massachusetts did not perceive
the force of this reasoning when they abolished the laws for
hanging witches and whipping Quakers. Permit me, sir, to ask»
Where had you been living when you declared it to be the duty
of Congress to give the fugitive a trial by jury, although for
fifty-seven years such a trial had been denied him ? You proba
bly forgot, sir, when giving the above " reason," that, not long
before you took your seat in Congress, you had, as a member of
the Massachusetts Legislature, voted for the following resolu
tion, viz. :
" We hold it to be the duty of that body (Congress) to pass such
laws only in regard thereto as will be maintained by the public senti
ment of the free States, where such laws are to be enforced, and which
shall especially secure all persons, whose surrender may be claimed as
having escaped from labor and service in other States, the right of
having the validity of such claim determined by a jury in the State
where such claim is made."
So it seems that, while in Boston, you esteemed it the especial
duty of Congress to grant the fugitive a trial by jury, but that
in the atmosphere of Washington you acquired new views of
moral philosophy.

588 jay's WORKS.
Suffer me, sir, also to inquire, Where had Mr. Webster been
" living for half a century," when, on the 3d of last June, he
introduced into the Senate a bill amendatory of the act of 1793,
granting the alleged fugitive a trial by jury whenever he shall
make oath that he is not the slave of the claimant ?
Another of your " reasons " is, that your law does not suspend
the habeas corpus, and in proof of its innocence in this respect, j
you refer to the opinion of "legal authority of the highest
kind," viz., Mr. Crittenden, of Kentucky. It is very true that '•
the words habeas corpus are omitted in your law, as the word
slave is in the Constitution, but in neither case is the omission
of any practical importance. You must be aware, sir, that
whenever a person is in the custody of another, if sufficient
ground be shown to render it probable that the custody is illegal,
the writ is granted as a matter of right. But why is it granted?
That the court may at its discretion, according to circumstances,
remand or discharge the prisoner. Take away from the court
the discretionary power to discharge, and the writ is rendered
an idle form. Your law, you say, does not suspend the habeas
corpus; it is guiltless of such an enormity. A man who is
carrying off one of our citizens in chains, may indeed be served
with the writ, and he brings his prisoner before the court, and
he produces a paper for which he paid ten dollars, and reads
from your law, that this paper, called a certificate, " shall be
conclusive," and " shall prevent all molestation of said person
or persons by any process issued by any court, judge, or magis
trate, or other person whomsoever." It is because the word
process, instead of habeas corpus, is used, that your law does not
suspend the writ of freedom ! In vain may the prisoner plead
that he is not the person mentioned in the certificate ; in vain
may he offer to show that the certificate is a forgery ; in vain
may he urge that the man who signed the certificate was not a
commissioner. The little piece of paper costing ten dollars is
to save the slave-catcher from " all molestation," not because the
writ of habeas corpus is suspended, — O, no ! but in consequence
of the words " any process ! "
You refer to two objections, which you say are made to your

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 589
law, and endeavor to refute them ; viz., the onerous obligations
imposed upon the marshal, and the penalties attached to an
attempt " to assist in the rescue of the slave after he has been
proved to be such." You have evinced your discretion in
confining yourself to only four objections made to your
law; viz., the denial of a jury trial, the suspension of the habeas
corpus, the duties of the marshal, and the penalties imposed on
an attempt to rescue the slave after judgment. With what suc
cess, and with what " reasons," you have combated the first two
has aheady been seen. As to the last two, they scarcely merit
an answer, and hence you have selected them. If the obliga
tions of the marshal are onerous, he has voluntarily assumed
them by accepting the office. If, in a civilized country, a man
attempts forcibly to rescue a prisoner in the custody of the law,
he must expect to be punished. There are many weighty objec
tions to your law which you have not thought it expedient to
notice. Permit me to supply your omission, and to tell you why
your law is so intensely odious. And here let me again remind
you of the true issue between you and the people. It is not
now the constitutional power of Congress under the decision of
the Supreme Court to pass a law for the recovery of fugitive
slaves, — this is conceded. The odium you have experienced,
and against which you have appealed to the public, is caused by
your having voted for a law which, in its details, violates the
Constitution, and outrages justice and humanity. Throughout
your long and labored apology, you avoid grappling with these
charges. You vindicate the denial of a jury trial only on the
ground that it has been denied for fifty-seven years, and on the
authority of Mr. Crittenden affirm that the habeas corpus is not
suspended ; but you avoid the constitutional and moral objections
urged against your law.
By the Constitution, fugitive slaves are to be restored to those,
and those only, who are legally entitled to their services. The
means of ascertaining whether a man is a slave, whether he has
fled from his master, and whether the claimant is legally entitled
to him, are not defined by the Constitution. It is now intrusted
to the discretion of Congress to specify these means, • but of
50*

5S0 jay's WORKS.
course that discretion ought to be exercised in accordance with
the Constitution, with justice, and with humanity. The com
plaint against you is, that you have voted for a law which
outrages them all, and against this complaint you have failed to
offer the shadow of a vindication.
A Virginian comes to Boston, and there seizes one of the
inhabitants^as his slave. The man claimed declares the claim
to be false and fraudulent. Here, then, is an issue both of law
and of fact between two men equally entitled to the protection
of law ; for the man claimed is on every presumption of law and
justice to be regarded as free, till the contrary is proved. The
issue between these two men is, I have said, one of fact and of
law. Is the person seized the man he is said to be ? This is a
question of fact. Admitting his identity, is he a slave, and, if
so, does he belong to the claimant ? These are both questions
of law, resting upon facts to be proved. Those familiar with
the reports of southern courts know that the title to slaves is a
frequent matter of litigation, involving intricate questions re
specting the validity of wills, the construction of deeds, the
partition of estates, and the claims of creditors. By carrying
a slave into a free State, the owner forfeits his title to him
while there, and cannot reclaim him ; and hence the acts of the
claimant himself may be involved in the issue. And now, sir,
I ask, have you ever known, or can you conceive of, any issue
at law respecting the title to property so awfully momentous to
a defendant as the one we are considering ? Were your son or
daughter the defendant in such an issue, would you not rejoice
to purchase a favorable judgment by the contribution of the last
cent of your great wealth? Let us, then, proceed to inquire
what provision you, in the fear of God and the love of justice
and humanity, have made for the trial of this tremendous issue,
— an issue on the result of which all the hopes of a fellow-man
for the life that is, and for that which is to come, are suspended.
In the first place, what is the pecuniary value of the plain
tiff's claim to himself? — for it would be an insult to humanity
to estimate in dollars and cents the blessings of liberty and of
the conjugal and parental relations to the unhappy defendant.

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT, 591
You have yourself fixed the value of the plaintiff's claim at one
thousand dollars. So far, then, the issue is, by your own
showing, within the constitutional guaranty of trial by jury in
ill suits at common law where the matter in controversy is of
the value of twenty dollars. But is the claim made by the
plaintiff " a suit at common law ? " What is a suit ? The
Supreme Court thus answers the question :
" We understand it (a suit) to be the prosecution or pursuit of some
claim, demand, or request. In law language, it is the prosecution of
some demand in a court of justice." 6 Wheaton, 407.
It seems, then, that the Virginian, in claiming an inhabitant
of Boston as his slave, in fact brings a suit against him for ser
vices due worth one thousand dollars. Now remember, sir, the
fugitive is not to be delivered up, as a mass of flesh, or inanimate
matter, belonging to the claimant, but as a debtor, in the phrase
ology of your own law, " owing service or labor." The suit is
brought for service or labor due, and the Constitution provides
that the person so owing service or labor shall be delivered to
him to whom the same is " due." And now, is this suit for ser
vice due " a suit at common law ? " Again let the Supreme
Court answer.
" The phrase common law, found in this clause (the clause guarantee
ing a jury trial,) is used in contradistinction to equity and admiralty
and maritime jurisdiction. It is well known, that, in civil causes in
courts of equity and admiralty, juries do not intervene, and that
courts of equity use the trial by jury only in extraordinary cases,
to inform the conscience of the court. When, therefore, we find that
the amendment requires that the right of trial by jury shah be pre
served in suits at common law, the natural conclusion is, that this
distinction was present to the minds of the framers of the amendment
By common law, they meant what the Constitution denominated, in the
third article, 'law;' not merely suits which the common law recog
nized among its old and settled proceedings, but suits in which legal
rights were to be ascertained and determined, in contradistinction
to those where equitable rights alone were recognized, and equitable
remedies were administered  In a just sense, the
amendment, then, may be construed to- embrace aU suits which are
not of equity and admiralty jurisdiction, whatever may be the peculiar
form which they may assume to settle legal rights." 3 Peters, 446.
If there be meaning in words, these authorities settle the case,
and your law is in palpable violation of the amendment to the

592 jay's WORKS.
Constitution securing a trial by jury in suits at common law
where the matter in controversy exceeds twenty dollars in value.
Think not, sir, that I am misrepresenting the Supreme Court.
I know well that the dicta I have quoted have reference to white
men, and that they have been virtually set aside in decisions
respecting black men. I well know, that in our model republic,
law and justice and morality are all cutaneous. But admitting
that the Supreme Court have stultified themselves, and virtually
denied, that, where a suit was brought for the services of a black
man, the Constitution required a jury trial, recollect, sir, that
not in one single instance has the court decided that the Con
stitution prohibited such a trial. But if not prohibited, then
Congress are permitted to accord such a trial, and both you and
Mr. Webster have declared that Congress had a right to grant such
a trial, and ought to grant it. In voting, therefore, for a law
denying such a trial, you made a voluntary surrender to the
slave-holder of the security which such a trial would have
afforded to multitudes of your poor, ignorant, oppressed fellow-
men. For this act of cruelty and injustice, committed against
your own late conviction of duty, what is your justification ?
Why, that the blacks had been already deprived of the right of
trial by jury fifty-seven years !
Let us now see what tribunal you have substituted for a
jury in the trial of one of the most momentous issues that can
engage the attention of a court of justice. You have provided
for the appointment of an indefinite number of judges, each of
whom is to have exclusive jurisdiction of these issues, and from
whose judgment there is to be no appeal. The Constitution
declares, " The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts,
shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated
times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall
not be diminished during their continuance in office." These
judges are appointed by the Senate, on the nomination of the
President. Your herd of judges, called , commissioners, are
appointed by the courts, and hold office during pleasure, and
instead of receiving a salary, are rewarded by a rule, the infamy
of which, it is believed, belongs to your law exclusively, — a rule

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 593
which doubles their compensation whenever they decide in favor
of the rich plaintiff, and against the poor and friendless defen
dant. But perhaps you will deny that these men are judges ;
for, if judges, their appointment is palpably unconstitutional.
Let us hear the Supreme Court, at a time when it was deemed
expedient to maintain that the persons who executed ihe law of
1793 -were judges.
"It is plain, that, where a claim is made by the owner out of pos
session for the dehvery of a slave, it must be made, if made at all,
against some other /person; and inasmuch as the right is a right of
property, capable of being recognized and asserted by proceedings
before a court of justice between parties adverse to each other, it consti
tutes, in the strictest sense, a controversy between parties, and a case
arising under the Constitution of the United States, within the express
delegation of judicial power given by that instrument." 16 Peters,
616. Hence your commissioners are, in the strictest sense, judges,
exercising "judicial power" delegated by the Constitution.
You pronounce Mr. Crittenden " legal authority of the highest
kind." This legal authority understands the sixth section of
your law as providing that each commissioner "shall have
judicial power and jurisdiction to hear, examine, and decide the
case in a summary manner." Now, if a man, having judicial
power and jurisdiction to decide controversies between parties
adverse to each other, in controversies arising under the Consti
tution and within the express delegation of judicial power given
by that instrument, is not a judge, do tell us who is one. Once
more, sir, Mr. Crittenden says, " The legal authority of every
tribunal of exclusive jurisdiction, where no appeal lies, is of
necessity conclusive upon every tribunal; and therefore the
judgment of the tribunal created by this act is conclusive upon
all other tribunals." So your commissioner is not only a judge,
but he constitutes a tribunal of exclusive jurisdiction, and his
judgment is binding even upon the Supreme Court of the United
States. And yet, sir, you must deny that this omnipotent com
missioner is a judge, or you must admit, that, in the mode of his
appointment, you have flagrantly violated the Constitution of
your country.

594 jay's works.
It has been most wickedly asserted by our pro-slavery presses
and our pro-slavery politicians, that the surrender of fugitives
from labor and fugitives from justice are similar proceedings. \ >
The surrender of a fugitive slave involves two questions, that of «
identity and that of property ; and the law makes the decision |
of the commissioner on both points final and conclusive upon i
every State and Federal court in the land. The surrender of j
a fugitive criminal involves only the question of personal identity. \
The Governor of the State issues his warrant for the apprehen
sion and delivery of a certain person proved to him to be charged
with felony. If the officer arrests the wrong person, he does it
at his peril, and a writ of habeas corpus would immediately
release the person wrongfully arrested. Again, it is most fraud
ulently maintained, that, if the wrong person is by the commis
sioner adjudged a slave, he may sue for his freedom in a southern
court ! Should he do so, the exhibition of the commissioner's
certificate is by law declared to be conclusive upon all tribunals.
But even supposing that a southern court, in defiance of law,
should go behind the certificate, how is a free colored person
from the North, working under the lash on a Mississippi planta
tion, to prove his freedom ? How is he to fee a lawyer ? How
is he to get into court ? If once there, where are his witnesses ?
They are his friends and acquaintances of his own color residing
in the North. How are they to be summoned to Mississippi ?
Should they venture to enter the State, they would be impris
oned, and perhaps sold into slavery ; or even if permitted to
enter the court-room, their testimony would by law be excluded,
against the claims of a white man. How despicably profligate,
then, is the assumption of the advocates of your law, that any
injustice committed under it would be repaired by southern
courts !
It was not enough, it seems, that the wretched defendant in
this momentous issue should be subjected to the jurisdiction of a
judge unknown to the Constitution, holding his office by a pro
hibited tenure, incapable of being impeached, and bribed to '
decide in favor of the plaintiff by the promise of double fees, but
the very trial allowed him must be a burlesque on all the forms

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 595
and principles of juridical justice. The plaintiff, without notice to
the defendant, prepares himself for trial, and when his affidavits
or witnesses are all ready, he seizes the unsuspecting victim in
the street, and puts him instanter on his defence. Had the
wretched man been accused of some atrocious crime, he might
have demanded bail, and would have been permitted to go at
large to seek for counsel, to look for witnesses, and to prepare
for trial at some future day, of which he would have due notice.
But no such privilege is allowed a man who is accused of otoing
service. One of your commissioners has already decided that
the law does not permit him to bail the prisoner. The slave
power rides in triumph over all the barriers erected by the
wisdom of ages for the protection of human rights. The defen
dant is brought, generally in irons, before your commissioner
judge, who is required " to hear and determine the case of the
claimant in a summary manner." The law seems not even to
imagine the possibility of any defence being made on the part
of the defendant. It makes no provision for such a defence, —
no assignment of counsel, no summons for witnesses. We shall
see presently that if the plaintiff makes out a prima facie title,
satisfactory to the commission, it is all the law requires. Let
me now call your attention to the practical working of your
diabohcal law. A man named Rose was lately seized at De
troit, and brought before a commissioner as a fugitive slave. I
copy from the newspaper report.
"Mr. Joy (counsel for defendant) moved a postponement of the
trial to a future day, to enable Rose to produce his papers to establish
his right to freedom, which papers he had sworn were in Cincinnati.
The counsel for the claimant denied that the commissioner had any
authority under the law to grant a postponement. The commissioner
agreed with the counsel for the plaintiff, that he had no authority to
postpone the trial ; and he further declared, that, even were the papers
by which Rose was manumitted present, he could not under tlie law re
ceive them inevidence."
Utterly devilish as was this decision, it was sound law. The
plaintiff had proved his title, satisfactorily, and this being done,
the commissioner was bound by the express words of the law to
grant the certificate. He had no right to admit rebutting evi-

"596 jay's WORKS.
dence. It was sufficient to prove that the prisoner had been the
slave of the claimant's father, and that the claimant was the
heir-at-law of his father. This of itself was satisfactory, and
therefore the commissioner had no right to admit in evidence
the very deed of manumission granted by the father to the
slave. The framers of the law had been as explicit as they
dared to be. " Upon satisfactory proof being made by deposi
tion or affidavit, to be taken and certified, &c, or by other satis
factory testimony [of course, in writing, and ex parte'], and with
proof, also by affidavit, of the identity of the person," &c, the
defendant is to be surrendered. Not a hint is given that any
testimony may be received to rebut the satisfactory proof given
by the plaintiff. You have, moreover, sir, provided a species of
evidence never before heard of in the trial of an issue. By the
tenth section, the claimant may go before a judge or court in
Texas, and there make proof by affidavit that his slave has
escaped. Whereupon, the court or judge is to certify that the
proof is satisfactory. A record of this satisfactory proof, together
with a description of the fugitive, is to be made, and a certifiSd
transcript of this record, " being exhibited to any judge, com
missioner, or other officer authorized," &c, " shall be held and
taken to be full and conclusive evidence of the fact of escape,
and that the service or labor of the person escaping is due to the
party in such record mentioned." Here all defence is taken
from the defendant. Should he summon a host of witnesses to
prove his freedom, not one could be heard ; should he offer a
bill of sale from the claimant to another, it could not be re
ceived ; should he produce a deed of manumission, acknowledged
and certified in a southern court, it would be waste paper. And
thus a man's freedom is to be sacrificed on an affidavit made a
thousand miles off. What, sir, would you think of a law that
would authorize the seizure and sale of your property to satisfy
a debt which any man in California might think proper to swear,
before a Californian judge, was due from you to him ?
Such, sir, is the trial which you, the representative of Boston,
a descendant of the Pilgrims, and " a gentleman of property and
standing," have accorded to the poor and oppressed. Did the

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT.' 597
Constitution require such a prostitution of justice, such an out
rage of humanity, at your hands ? I need not be told that some
of your commissioners have not construed your law as strictly
as did the Detroit functionary. Thanks to the force of public
opinion, and to the zeal of some benevolent lawyers, whose
hearts were not padded with cotton, in some instances defend
ants have been permitted to call witnesses in their behalf; and
some regard has been paid to the ordinary principles of justice.
But in all such instances, the spirit of the law and the intentions
of its framers have been frustrated.
And now let us listen to your " reason" for justifying all the
atrocities and abominations of your law. You gravely tell us,
" The entire population of the North has acquiesced in the law
of 1793, without thinking itself exposed to the charge of bar
barity, and I have only to say, that I do not think the charge
any more just now." Certainly, sir, the young colonial judge I
could not have given a reason less logical or satisfactory. You
must be an inattentive observer of passing events, if you are
ignorant that the law of 1793 has again and again been de
nounced as iniquitous, that some of the States have prohibited
their officers from assisting in its execution, that numberless
petitions have been presented to Congress for 'its repeal, and
that you yourself, instead of acquiescing in it, solemnly de
clared it to be the duty of Congress so far to alter the law, as
to grant the alleged fugitive a trial by jury. Yet the law of
1793, wicked as it was, was justice and mercy compared with
yours. The trials under that were almost invariably before
judges of the State courts, not appointed like your commissioners
for the vile and only purpose of reducing their fellow-men to
bondage. These judges were not confined to ex parte evidence,
were not compelled to receive "as full and conclusive" affidavits
made in distant States, and by unknown persons. For the most
part, they honestly endeavored, by a patient investigation
according to the ordinary rules of evidence, and by holding the
plaintiff to strict legal proof, to supply the want of a jury.
David Paul Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, in a letter of last
November, affirms that for the last thirty years he has been
51

598 jay's WORKS.
engaged as counsel in almost every important fugitive case
brought before the judges and courts of Philadelphia, and he
tells us, " thanks to those upright and impartial and independent
judges by whom the rights of the parties were finally deter
mined," he knows of no instance in which a colored person was,
in his opinion, wrongfully surrendered. But he adds, " I have
known hundreds who have been illegally and unjustly claimed."
This experienced lawyer, commenting on your law, justly says it
allows " ex parte testimony to be received against the alleged
fugitive, which upon no principle known to the common law
could be received upon the claim to a horse or a dog." About
four weeks after the date of this letter, Mr. Brown was called
to defend an alleged fugitive " illegally and unjustly claimed,"
not before one of the " upright and impartial and independent"
Pennsylvania judges, but before one of your ten-dollar slave-
catching judges. I beg you to mark the result.
On the 21st of December, a colored man was arrested in the
street in Philadelphia, without warrant, and accused of stealing
chickens. He was thrust into a carriage, driven to the State
House, carried into an upper room, and handcuffed. In this
state he was detained till a commissioner arrived. The name of
this executor of your law is worthy of remembrance. Edward
D. Ingraham ought to be as much endeared to slave-catchers,
as Judge Jeffries was to James the Second.
By some means, the arrest became known, and counsel ap
peared for the prisoner. Your commissioner was informed that
the prisoner had only been seized an hour and a half before,
and had not heard the charge against him ; that his counsel had
had no time to learn the plaintiff's case, nor to prepare for the
defence ; that there were persons residing at a distance, some in
New Jersey and some in Wilmington, who would be important
witnesses in his behalf. On these grounds, a motion was made
for a continuance. And what, sir, do you suppose was the re
ply made by the slave-catching judge to this motion ? " The
HEARING IS TO BE A SUMMARY ONE : LET IT PROCEED." No
doubt you fully participate in Mr. Webster's indignation against
Austrian barbarity ; but see no barbarity in this accursed pro-

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 599
ceeding against a colored American. The hearing did proceed,
and James S. Price, on behalf of the plaintiff, swore that the
prisoner was Emery Rice, the man claimed, but knew nothing
further about his being a slave, except that he had seen him
riding the claimant's horse ; had heard it said the prisoner was
a slave. This was the amount of the testimony on behalf of
the claimant. Any honest jury, nay, any honest judge, would
instantly have decided in favor of the prisoner. Not so Mr.
Edward D. Ingraham. The counsel for the defendant asked
again for a postponement, and founded the motion on the oath
of the defendant, that he could procure six persons, naming
them, to testify to his freedom. A delay of one hour was
asked for. This was refused, and the judge (!) sent for a cer
tificate to sign. During the delay thus occasioned, pne of the
six persons named by the defendant appeared, and swore that he
had known the prisoner all his life. That he was not Emery
Rice, but Adam Gibson ; that he was a free man, having been
manumitted by the will of his late master. Mr. Brown pro
duced a copy of the will of the late master, and it so far con
firmed the testimony of the witness. Another person in the
crowd now came forward, and swore that he also knew the pris
oner, and that he was a free person, and that he was Adam Gib
son. But all was in vain. The commissioner signed the certi
ficate, and, with an obtuseness of intellect which marked him as
a fit subject for a commission of lunacy, declared, " He had no
doubt of the identity of the prisoner with the slave Emery Rice,
and that all other proceedings must be before ihe courts of
Maryland, whither he would send him." * And so the prisoner,
without seeing his wife and children, whom he had that morning
parted from unsuspicious of danger and unconscious of crime,
was hurried off at the expense of our glorious model republic,
under an escort of officers, who delivered him, not to the courts
of Maryland, but to Mr. William S. Knight, the reputed owner.
But Mr. Knight told the officers, "You have brought me a
wrong man ; this is not Emery Rice ; this man is no slave of
* Sec report in the New York Tribune, 25th December, 1850.

600 jay's works.
mine." And so Adam Gibson returned to Philadelphia, and is
now a living illustration of the abominable iniquity of one of the
most accursed laws to be found in the statute-book of any civil
ized nation.
You do not think your law more barbarous than that of 1793.
Let me further enlighten you. Judge McLean of the Supreme
Court, in his opinion delivered last May in the case of Norris vs.
Newton et al., remarks, " In regard to the arrest of fugitives from
labor, the law [act of 1793] does not impose any active duties on
our citizens generally ; " and he argues in defence of the law,
that " it gives no one a just right to complain ; he has only to
refrain from an express violation of the law." In other words,
the law only required individuals to be passive spectators of a
horrible outrage, and did not compel them to be active partici
pators in other men's villany. Now, what says your law ? Why,
that every commissioner may appoint as many official slave-
catchers as he pleases, and that each of these menials may
" summon and call to their aid the bystanders or posse comitatus
of the proper county, when necessary to insure a faithful observ
ance of the clause of the Constitution referred, to in conformity
with the provisions of this act, and all good citizens are
hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and
efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be
required." And what is the fate you have provided for the
" good citizen," who, believing slavery to be sinful, cannot, in
the fear of God, " aid and assist " in making' a fellow-man a
slave ? Any person " who shall aid, abet, or assist " the fugitive,
" directly or indirectly," (cunning words) to escape from such
claimant, as, for instance, refusing to join in a slave-hunt when
required, shall be fined not exceeding $1000, be imprisoned six
months, and pay the claimant $1000. I hope, sir, you are now
able to perceive that your law has a preeminence in barbarity
over its predecessor. And now, sir, please to recollect, that
party discipline, aided by the influence of Messrs. Webster and
Clay, and the factory and cotton interests of Boston and New
York, could not procure for this atrocious law the votes of one-
half the members of the House of Representatives, Of two

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 601
hundred and thirty-two members, only one hundred and nine
dared to place their names on an enduriug and shameful record,
while many basely deserted their seats, fearing alike to vote
either for or against it. You, sir, following Mr. Webster's advice,
"conquered your prejudices," and in company with two more
northern Whigs, one of them a native of Virginia, cast your
vote for this bill of abominations. But, although you voted for
the law, you do not wish your constituents to suppose you ap
proved of it. " It will not, I trust, be inferred from any thing
I have said, that I consider the law which has passed unexcep
tionable. There are amendments which I strongly desire to be
introduced into it." What are the exceptionable features of the
law, what are the amendments you desire, you refrain from
specifying. But you tell us that you would have labored for
those amendments " had it been possible, but every body knows
that it was impracticable." You allude to the previous question,
which prevented both discussion and amendments. But why,
then, did you vote for an objectionable bill which could not be
amended? Here, again, we have one of your unfortunate
reasons. " I deem conformity to the design of the Constitution
more important than the objectionable details of the bill." So,
by your own confession, had there been no previous question,
you would have swallowed the bill, with all its objectionable de
tails, out of reverence for the design of the Constitution, although
that design neither embraced nor required a single one of those
details. Did you, sir, vote against the previous question ? On
this point you are silent, and the minutes afford no information ;
but if you did, your vote was a most remarkable aberration
from your pro-slavery course in Congress. After the previous
question had been seconded, it was moved -to lay the bill on the
table. Had this motion been carried, you might have introduced
another bill, omitting the "objectionable details," but you voted
with the slave-holders. The slave-holders then moved that the
bill be read a third time. Had this been lost, there would have
been a chance of correcting the " objectionable details." Again
you voted with the slave-holders, and a third time, also, on the
main question. 51*

602 jay's works.
I will now, sir, call your attention to the disastrous influence
which your law has exerted on the moral sense of the commu
nity. Says Coleridge, " To dogmatize a crime, that is, to teach
it as a doctrine, is itself a crime." Of this crime of dogmatizing
crime, Mr. Webster, and most of our cotton politicians, and, alas !
many of our fashionable, genteel divines, are guilty ; nor are you
innocent, sir, who in your law require "good citizens" to aid
in hunting and enslaving their fellow-men.
In former years, and before Mr. Webster had undergone his
metamorphosis, he thus, in a speech at New York, expressed
himself in regard to the anti-slavery agitation at the North :
" It (slavery) has arrested the religious feeling of the country ; it has
taken strong hold of the consciences of men. He is a rash man indeed,
httle conversant with human nature, and especially has he a very
erroneous estimate of the character of the people of this country, who
supposes that a feeling of this kind is to be trifled with or despised."
This gentleman has become the rash man shadowed forth in
his speech, and is trifling with and despising the religious feeling
of the North. In his street speech in Boston, in favor of slave-
hunting, he avowed that he was well aware that the return of
fugitives " is a topic that must excite prejudices," and that the
question for Massachusetts to decide was, "whether she will
conquer her own prejudice." In his letter to the citizens of
Newburyport, he sneeringly alludes to the " cry that there is a
rule for the government of public men and private men which is
superior to the Constitution," and he scornfully intimates that
Mr. Horace Mann, who had objected to your law as wicked,
would do well " to appeal at once, as others do, to that high au
thority which sits enthroned above the Constitution and the
laws ; " and he gives an extract from a nameless English cor
respondent, in which the writer remarks, " Religion is an excel
lent thing except in politics," a maxim exceedingly palatable to
very many of our politicians. Aware that the impiety of this
sentiment was not exactly suited to the meridian of Massachu
setts, he says his friend undoubtedly meant " a fantastical notion
of religion." Of course, he regards the religious prejudice
against hunting and enslaving men as springing from a fantastic
notion of religion. Yet, with a strange fatuity, he confesses that

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 603
"the teaching of Christ and his apostles is a sure guide to duty
in politics, as in any other concern of life," utterly oblivious of
the fact, that the " higher law," which he ridicules, was pro
claimed in that very teaching. Christ taught, " Fear not them
(magistrates) who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul,
butrather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body
in hell." What taught the apostles ? " We must obey God,
rather than man." Such teaching it was, that gave birth to "the
noble army of martyrs," and this very teaching will induce mul
titudes of Christians at the present day to hazard fines and im
prisonment rather than obey the wicked injunctions of your law.
It was this same teaching which, on the publication of your law,
induced numerous ministers of Jesus Christ, and various eccle
siastical assemblies, to denounce it as wicked, and obedience to
it as rebellion against God. This expression of religious senti
ment alarmed both our politicians and our merchants. How
could the one expect southern votes, or the other southern
trade, if the religious people at the North refused to catch
slaves ? Hence arose a mighty outcry against the blending of
religion with politics, and most fearful were the anathemas
against the parsons who desecrated the pulpit by preaching pol
itics, that is, preaching that people ought to obey God rather
than the Fugitive Slave Act. Such men were, in the language
of one of the New York commercial journals, " clerical preach
ers of rebellion," and their congregations were exhorted to " leave
them to naked walls." But the leaven was at work, and an
antidote was greatly wanted. Supply of course follows demand,
and forthwith there was a sudden advent of cotton clergymen,
preaching against rebellion, and cunningly confounding a con
scientious, passive disobedience with forcible resistance- Their
sermons, in which virtually
" The image of God was accounted as base,
And the image of Caesar set up in its place,"
were received with mighty applause by the very men who had
been striving to save the pulpit from all contaminating contact
with politics, and the reverend preachers of cotton politics were
elevated into patriots, and their disquisitions against the "higher

604 jay's WORKS.
law" were scattered on the wings of the commercial press
broadcast over the land.* The theology which holds that the
* In one of the most celebrated of these sermons, we find the following
broad assertion : — "If God has left to men the choice of the kind of gov
ernment they will have, he has not left it to their choice whether they will
obey human government or not. 'He has commanded that obedience." Our
rulers command us, when required by a commissioner's agent, to aid in hunt
ing and seizing our innocent fellow-men, and delivering them into the hands
of their task-masters. That the reverend preacher would render a cheerful
obedience to such a mandate, there is little doubt. We read that the Jewish
rulers, " The chief priests and Pharisees, had given a commandment, that, if
any one knew where he (Jesus) was, he should show it, that they might take
him." Strange is it, that of the college of apostles there was but one
" good citizen," who rendered obedience to the powers ordained by God ; all
the others suffered death for their wilful, deliberate defiance of the laws and
the magistrates of the land. ' As a specimen of the teaching of these cotton
divines, I quote from this same admired sermon the following precious piece
of information, viz. : — " Nor is it true that the fugitive slave is made an
outlaw, and on that ground justifiable for bloody and murderous resistance of
law. He is under the protection of law ; and if any man injures him, or kills
him, the law will avenge him, just as soon as it would you or me." To deny
the truth of this solemn declaration, made in the house of God, would be, in
the reverend gentlemen's estimation, but a portion of " that perpetual abuse
of our southern brethren " of which he complains. He must, however, per
mit us to call his attention to the following advertisements respecting a fugi
tive slave, published in the Wilmington Journal of the 18th of October last,
in pursuance of a law of the State of North Carolina.
' "Stateof North Carolina, New Hanover County. — Whereas complaintnpon
oath hath this day has been made to us, two of the justices of the peace for
the State and County aforesaid, by Guilford Horn, of Edgecombe County,
that a certain male slave belonging to him, named Harry, — a carpenter by
trade, about 40 years old, 5 feet 5 inches high, or thereabouts, yellow com
plexion, stout built, with a scar on his left leg (from the cut of an axe,) has
very thick lips, eyes deep sunk in his head, forehead very square, tolerably
loud voice, has lost one or two of his upper teeth, and has a very dark spot on
his jaw, supposed to be a mark, — hath absented himself from his master's ser
vice, and is supposed to be lurking about in this county, committing acts of
felony or other misdeeds : These are, therefore, in the name of the State
aforesaid, to command said slave forthwith to surrender himself, and return
home to his master ; and we do hereby, by virtue of the act of Assembly in
such case made and provided, intimate and declare that if the said slave Harry
doth not surrender himself and return home immediately after the publication
of these presents, that any person or persons may kill and destroy the said
slave by such means as he may think fit, without accusation or impeachment
of any crime or offence for so doing, and without incurring any penalty or for
feiture thereby.
" Given under our hands and seals, this 29th day of June, 1850.
James T. Miller, J. P.
W. C. Benttencourt, J. P."
"One hundred and twenty-five dollars reward will he paid for the
delivery of said Harry to me at Tonsott Depot, Edgecombe County, or for
his confinement in any jail in the State, so that I can get him ; or one hun
dred and fifty dollars will be given for his head. He was lately heard from
in Newbern, where he called himself Henry Barnes (or Burns) and will be
likely to continue the name or assume that of Coppage or Farmer. He has a
free mulatto woman for a wife, by the name of Sally Bozeman, who has lately
removed to Wilmington, and lives in that part of the town called Texas,
where he will likely be lurking. " Guilford Horn.
" June 29, 1850."

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 605
allegiance we owe to civil government binds the conscience to
obedience to its mandates, is the same with which Shakspeare's
assassin quieted his scruples when acting under the royal com
mand, — "If a king bid a man be a villain, he is bound by the
indenture of his oath to be one."
It is amusing to observe with what awful reverence our mer
chants and brokers regard the sanctity of human law, when it
commands them to catch slaves ; a reverence not always felt by
them for the statute of usury when the money market is tight.
A vast deal of nonsense and impiety has been recently thrown
upon the public in relation to the " higher law," by men who had
political and pecuniary interests depending on the good-will of
the slave-holders. The whole subject is perfectly simple and in
telligible, and has been intentionally misrepresented and mys
tified. Human government is indispensable to the happiness and
progress of human society. Hence God, in his wisdom and
benevolence, wills its existence ; and in this sense, and this
alone, the powers that be are ordained by him. But civil gov
ernment cannot exist, if each individual may, at his pleasure,
forcibly resist its injunctions. Therefore, Christians are re
quired to submit to the powers that be, whether a Nero or a
slave-catching Congress. But obedience to the civil ruler often
necessarily involves rebellion to God. Hence we are warned
by Christ and his apostles, and by the example of saints in all
ages, in such cases, not to obey, but to submit and suffer. We
are to hold fast our allegiance to Jehovah, but at the same time
not take up arms to defend ourselves against the penalties im
posed by the magistrate for our disobedience. Thus the Divine
sovereignty and the authority of human government are both
maintained. Revolution is not the abolition of human govern
ment, but a change in its form, and its lawfulness depends on
circumstances. What was the " den " in which John Bunyan
had his glorious vision of the Pilgrim's Progress ? A prison to
which he was confined for years for refusing obedience to
human laws. And what excuse did this holy man make for
conduct now denounced as wicked and rebellious ? "I cannot

606 jay's WORKS.
obey, but I can suffer." The Quakers have from the first
refused to obey the law requiring them to bear arms ; yet have
they never been vilified by our politicians and cotton clergymen,
as rebels against the powers that be, nor sneered at for their
acknowledgment of a " higher " than human law. The Lord
Jesus Christ, after requiring us to love God and our neighbor,
added, " There is none other commandment greater than these ; "
no, not even a slave-catching act of Congress, which requires us
to hunt our neighbor, that he may be reduced to the condition
of a beast of burden. Rarely has the religious faith of the com
munity received so rude a shock as that which has been given
it by your horrible law, and the principles advanced by its
political and clerical supporters. Cruelty, oppression, and
injustice are elevated into virtues, while justice, mercy and
compassion are ridiculed and vilified.
But lately, the business oi catching slaves was regarded as
one of the lowest grades of scoundrelism. Now, great pains are
taken by our gentlemen of property and standing to ennoble it ;
and men of eminence in the legal profession are stooping to take
the wages of iniquity, and lending themselves to consign to the
horrors of American slavery, men whom they know to be inno
cent of crime. Nay, we have seen in New York a committee
of gentlemen actually raising money by voluntary contributions
to furnish a slave-catcher with professional services gratis ; — a
free gift, hot to mitigate human misery, but to aggravate the
hardships of the poor and friendless a thousandfold. Can men
of standing in the community thus openly espouse the cause of
cruelty and oppression, and, from commercial and political
views, trample upon every principle of Christian benevolence,
without corrupting the moral sense of the people to the extent
of their influence ? When gentlemen club together to hire a
lawyer to assist a slave-catcher, no wonder that the commercial
press should teem with the vilest abuse of all who feel sympa
thy for the fugitive. One of the most malignant pro-slavery
journals in NewYork is edited by your colleague and fellow
Whig, the Honorable Mr. Brooks, and his brother. I copy,
sir, for your consideration, the following article from the New

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 607
York Evening Express, published during the late trial in that
city of Henry Long, an alleged fugitive :
" Two fugitive cases are now before our courts ; one that of the negro
Henry Long, and the other that of three white Frenchmen, under the
extradition treaty with France. The negro's case makes a great deal i
of noise, because he is black ; the three white Frenchmen are hardly j
heard of. The three white French people pay their own counsel ;
they may have committed a robbery in Paris, or may not ; are perhaps
innocent, though possibly guilty ; but here they are on trial, with no
chance of a trial before a jury ! If they are sent back, and are con
victed, they go to the galleys, and are slaves for life. The negro,
Henry Long, lucky fellow for being black ! lives in clover here, and
has one of the best speakers in the city, on the best fee, interests all the
abolitionists in all quarters, who contribute' money freely for his de
fence, and if he is returned, leaves here canonized as a martyr, and
goes back to the condition he was born jn, to fatten on hog and hominy,
Better fed and better clothed than nine tenths of the farm laborers in
Great Britain. Another consideration strikes us, and that is, the cost
of defending Long will buy his freedom three times over. The very
fee of his counsel would purchase his freedom. But to buy him and
pay for him, not steal him, would leave no room for agitation. And
where does this money come from, that cares for Long and neglects
the three Frenchmen ? From England, in the main, we believe. The
abolitionists here do not contribute it."
It would be difficult to find in the Satanic press a more clumsy
piece of malignant falsehood. We have here, from the same
pen and in the same article, the assertions, that the abolitionists
iu all quarters, we are assured, " contribute money freely for his
defence ; " and then the money, it is believed, comes mainly from
England. " The abolitionists here do not contribute it." To
contribute money for the legal defence of a fugitive is stealing
him. The cost of defending Long amounted to three times the
price that would be asked for him. Long, after his return, sold
in Richmond for $750 ; of course his defence cost $2,250. To
whom, and for what was this money paid ? Long could not be
bought in New York, all advances for the purpose being peremp
torily repulsed. His counsel's fee was $300, being all contrib
uted in New York, and about $100 of it being raised by the free
colored people. While $300 were thus raised to give Long the
chance of a legal defence, gentlemen of the New York Union
Safety Committee, of which your colleague has the honor of
being a member, contributed $500 to aid the slave-catcher in
reducing to bondage a man unaccused of crime !

608 JAl^S WORKS.
I am inclined to believe, sir, that you have little cause to con
gratulate yourself, that, in voting for the Fugitive Slave Law,
you have advanced the cause of truth, justice, humanity, or
religion. A refusal to obey your wicked law has been artfully repre
sented as a determination to resist its execution. Very few of
our white population have intimated the most distant intention of
resorting to illegal violence. Very many ecclesiastical bodies
have denounced your law as so iniquitous, that they could not
in conscience obey it ; but I challenge you to point to a single
instance in which such a body has recommended forcible resist
ance. To the vast accumulation of impiety uttered in support of
your law has been added a fiendish ridicule of the benevolent
and Christian feeling arrayed against it. It is true, that some
of our free blacks and fugitives have declared, that they would,
at the hazard of their lives, defend themselves against the kid
napper. Whatever may be thought of the wisdom of such a
determination, be assured it will tax your logical powers to the
utmost to prove that God has conferred the right of self-defence
exclusively upon white men. The slave is a prisoner of war,
and instead of being protected by law, he is subjected by it to
every conceivable outrage. When murdered, his owner seeks
in the courts damages at the hands of the murderer, as he would
for the death of his horse. For no possible injury committed
on his person, either by his owner or others, can he receive com
pensation, although the law may profess to punish cruelty to him
as to other animals. Now it has never been regarded as im
moral, by those who admit the right of self-defence, for a pris
oner of war to effect his escape by slaying his guard. All
this, I know, will horrify a certain class of our divines and
pohticians. But let them be patient. I am not laying down a
doctrine, but stating facts, which they may disprove if they can.
Let them remember that all the slavery which they delight to
find in the Bible was the slavery of white men, and that the
Roman slaves in the time of Christ, whose bondage, we are told,
he and his apostles approved, were held by the right of war.
White Americans have been held as slaves by the same holy

- LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 609
and Scriptural tenure. Let us, then, inquire how the escape
and resistance of white slaves have heretofore been regarded.
In 1535, the white slaves in Tunis alone amounted to twenty
thousand. Cervantes, who had himself been a slave in Algiers,
says in his writings, " For hberty we ought to risk life itself;
slavery being the greatest evil that can fall to the lot of man."
Acting upon this precept, he himself, while a slave, planned a
general insurrection of the slaves. Yet Cervantes was recog
nized as a faithful son of the Church, and the license prefixed
to his works declares they contain nothing contrary to the Chris
tian religion. The Annual Register for 1763 announces, that,
"last month, the Christian slaves at Algiers, to the number of
four thousand, rose and killed their guards, and massacred all
who came in their way." The insurrection was suppressed, but
no one in Europe denounced the insurgents as bloodthirsty
wretches, nor regarded their effort as an impious and anti-Chris
tian rebellion against the powers ordained of God. In the reign
of Elizabeth, one John Fox, a slave on the Barbary coast, slew
his master, and, effecting his escape with a number of his fellow-
slaves, arrived in England. The queen, instead of looking upon
him as a murderer, testified her admiration of his exploit by
allowing him a pension.*
Washington Madison performed a similar exploit on board an
American coast slaver, and arrived, with a large number of his
fellow-slaves, in the British West Indies. Mr. Webster, then
Secretary of State, otficially demanded of the British government
the surrender of this heroic man as a murderer.
In 1793, there were one hundred and fifteen American slaves
in Algiers, held by as perfect and Scriptural a tenure as any slave
is now held in any part of our wide repubhc. Had one of these
slaves made his escape by killing his Algerine master, would
any of our patriotic divines, would any gentleman of the " New
York Union Committee of Safety," would even Mr. Webster
himself, have pronounced him a murderer ? Had the captain
of a British ship favored his escape, and given him a passage to
•For the facts on this subject, see the admirable work by Charles Sumner
entitled "White Slavery in the Barbary States."
62

610 jay's works.
Boston, would your colleague, the Honorable Mr. Brooks, have
accused him of slave stealing ? Is it not possible, sir, that, with
very many of our casuists and moralists, questions of conscience
are decided according to the tincture of a skin ?
I will now ask your attention to some of the political conse
quences resulting from the late measures in which you rejoice,
and for .which you voted. No sooner bad Congress made the
required concessions to the slave power, than the advocates of
those measures claimed the glory of having given peace to the
country, and perpetuity to the Union. Mr. Webster, as one of
the chief agents in this blessed consummation, received the con
gratulations of a crowd in Washington. In his reply he ob
served :
" Truly, gentlemen, the last two days have been great days. A
work has bee.n accomplished which dissipates doubts and alarms, puts
an end to angry controversies, fortifies the Constitution of the country,
and strengthens the bond of the Union.
" ' Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer ; 
And all the clouds that lowered upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.' "
The glorious summer anticipated by the orator proved cold
and brief, and if the lowering clouds were indeed buried in the
ocean, the sea has given up its dead. Never before, since the
organization of the government, has such a tempest of indigna
tion swept over the land. Never before, in a single instance,
' has there been manifested throughout the rehgious portion of
the community, of all creeds and names, such a settled determi
nation in the fear of God to withhold obedience to a law of the
land. The sentiments of the great mass of the people of the
free States, exclusive of the commercial cities, are briefly but
emphatically embodied in a resolution of the Common Council
of Chicago, viz. :
" The Fugitive Slave Act recently passed by Congress is revolting
to our moral sense, and an outrage on our feelings of justice and
humanity, because it disregards all the securities which the Constitu
tion and laws have thrown around personal hberty, and its direct ten
dency is to alienate the people from their love and reverence for the
government and institutions of our country."

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 611
How far the clouds which hovered over our house have been
dissipated, let the recent rout of Mr. Webster's party in Massa
chusetts testify. Let his own declaration, a month after the
peace measures were adopted, that the Union was passing
through a fiery trial, testify.* How far the work of the two
days has fortified the Constitution, let the recent law of Ver
mont, denounced as an utter nullification of the Constitution,
because it rescues the alleged fugitive from the hands of the
commissioner, and gives him a jury trial before a State court,
testify. When rumors were rife that Mr. Webster intended to
repudiate his own thunder, the Wilmot Proviso, the New York
Herald, the chief northern organ of the slave-holders, promised
that, if the senator would indeed pursue a course so patriotic, a
grateful country would, at the next election, place him in the
presidential chair. But scarcely had the acts advocated by Mr.
Webster been consummated, than the Herald, with sardonic
mahce, announces, —
" The predictions of Mr. Clay, that the Compromise Bill would
speedily conciliate all parties, and restore the era of good feeling, were
exactly the reverse of the actual consequences. Mr. Webster has been
cast overboard in Massachusetts. General Cass has been virtually con
demned in Michigan. Mr. Dickinson, the President, and his cabinet,
have been routed in New York. Mr. Phelps has been superseded in
Vermont. Whilst in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin,, the Free
Soilers have carried off the booty." And he winds up with declaring,
that the next President " can't be Fillmore nor Webster."
If the " peace measures " have strengthened the bond of the
Union, what mean all the meetings lately held to save the
Union ? Why is the tocsin now sounded by the very authors
and friends of the measures ? How comes it that, in Boston
itself, the chairman of a Union meeting contradicts the exulting
and jubilant shout of triumph uttered by the Secretary of State,
and makes the following doleful announcement ?
" The Union, and consequently the existence of this nation, is men
aced, and unless there is a great and general effort in their support,
we may soon behold the mighty fabric of our government trembling
over our heads, and threatening by its fall to crush the prosperity which
we have so long and happily enjoyed."
* Letter to Union Meeting in New York, 28th Oct., 1850.

612 jay's WORKS.
So relaxed has become the bond of our Union, that one hun
dred gentlemen of property and standing in New York have,
under the style and title of " The New York Union Committee
of Safety," assumed the onerous task of taking it into their
safe keeping. " Committees of safety " are associated with times
of peril and anarchy, and are never wanted when alarms have
ceased, angry discussions ended, the Constitution fortified, and
the bond of Union strengthened.
In this universal panic, in this dread entertained, especially
in Boston, by Mr. Webster's friends, of soon seeing the mighty
fabric of our government trembling over their heads, it may, sir,
be consolatory to you and others to know how so dire a calamity
may be averted. The chivalric senator from Mississippi — the
gentleman who threatens to hang one senator if he dare place
his foot on the soil of Mississippi, who draws a loaded pistol on
another, and for a third bears a challenge to mortal combat —
was lately in the city of New York. The Committee of Safety
found him out, and lauded him for his fearless discharge of duty,
and his fervor and devotion to the Union, and welcomed him to
the commercial emporium in the name of all who appreciate the
blessings we enjoy, and are willing to transmit them to their
children. The worthy and conciliatory gentleman very appro
priately communicated to the committee having the Union in
charge the conditions on which alone it could be saved, notwith
standing its bond had so recently been strengthened. These
conditions are, we learn, four in number.
1. " The Fugitive Slave Bill passed by Congress shall remain
the law of the land, and be faithfully executed."
Both you and Mr. Webster admit that the Constitution per
mits a jury trial to the fugitive. Should Congress, in its wisdom,
and in obedience to the wishes of the great mass of the northern
population, and in the exercise of its constitutional power, elevate
property in a human being to the same level with that in a
horse, and permit a jury to pass upon the title to it, — the Union
must be dissolved.
2. " The Wilmot Proviso, that monstrous thing, shall not be
revived." It was not courteous, certainly, in Mr. Foote thus to

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 613
characterize Mr. Webster's thunder. The claim to this thunder
was made in his speech, September, 1847, at the Springfield
Convention, which nominated him for President ; and the Con
vention, in his presence, thus declared their devotion to his
missile :
" The Whigs of Massachusetts now declare, and put this declaration
of their purpose on record, that Massachusetts will never consent that
Mexican territories, however acquired, shall become a part of the
American Union, unless on the unalterable condition that there shall
be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in punish
ment for crime."
The next year Mr. Webster launched his thunder over the
Territory of Oregon, and thus in his speech (10th August,
1848) vindicated it from the character now given to it by Mr.
Foote :
" Gentlemen from the South declare that we invade their rights when
we deprive them of a participation in the enjoyment of territories ac
quired by the common services and common exertions of all. Is this
true ? Of what do we deprive them ? Why, they say that we deprive
them of the privilege of carrying their slaves as slaves into the new
territories. Well, sir, what is the amount of that ? They say, that in
this way we deprive them of going into this acquired territory with
their property. Their property ! What do they mean by this ' pro
perty ? ' We certainly do not deprive them of the privilege of going
into those newly acquired territories with all that, in the general esti
mate of human society and common and universal understanding of
mankind, is esteemed property. Not at all. The truth is just this.
They have in their own States pecuhar laws which create property in
persons  The real meaning, then, of southern gentlemen, in
making this complaint, is, that they cannot go into the territories of the
United States carrying with them their own peculiar law, a law
which creates property in persons."
So the Wilmot Proviso was no monstrous thing at all, as
applied to Oregon. When the question came up of applying
this same Proviso to New Mexico and California, Mr. Webster
discovered in these Territories a certain peculiarity of physical
geography and Asiatic scenery which he had not discovered in
Oregon, and which, he found, rendered it a physical impossibility
for southern gentlemen to carry there "a law which creates
property in persons," and he therefore gave them full liberty to
carry their law into those vast regions, if they could. But at
52*

614 jay's WORKS.
the very moment of giving this liberty to southern gentlemen, he
courageously warned them that his thunder was good constitu
tional thunder, and would be used whenever necessary.
" Wherever there is an inch of land to be stayed back from becoming
slave territory, I am ready to insert the principle of the exclusion of
slavery. I am pledged to that from 1837, — pledged to it again and
again, and I will perform those pledges."
So, should we get another slice of Mexico, or annex Cuba or
St. Domingo, Mr. Webster would revive the Wilmot Proviso,
and then he will be the means, if he succeeds, of dissolving the
Union !
3. The next condition announced to the Safety Committee
is, — " No attempt shall be made in Congress to prohibit slavery
in the District of Columbia."
Now it is the opinion of Mr. Webster, that Congress has the
constitutional right, not merely to attempt, but actually to effect,
the exclusion of slavery in all the Territories of the United
States. The District of Columbia being placed by the Consti
tution expressly under " the exclusive jurisdiction " of Con
gress, the constitutional right to abolish slavery there has rarely
been questioned ; but it has been contended that good faith to
the States which ceded the District forbids such an act of con
stitutional power. Hence, in 1838, a resolution was introduced
into the Senate declaring that the abolition of slavery in the
District would be " a violation of good faith," &c. What said
Mr. Webster ?
"I do not know any matter of fact, or any ground of argument, on
which this affirmation of plighted faith can stand. I see nothing in the
act of cession, and nothing in the Constitution, and nothing in the
transaction, implying any hmitation on the authority of Congress." *
* On the 10th of January, 1838, Mr. Clay moved in the Senate the following
resolution, viz. : — "Resolved, that the interference by the citizens of any 'of
the States, with a view to the abolition of slavery in this District, is endan
gering the rights and security of the people of this District ; and that any
act or measure of Congress designed to abolish slavery in this District would
be a violation of the faith implied in the cession by the States of Virginia
and Maryland, a just cause of alarm to the people of the slave-holding States,
and have a direct and inevitable tendency to disturb and endanger the
Union." Passed, 38 to 8, Mr. Webster voting in the negative. Senate Jour
nal, 2 Sess. 25 Cony., p. 127.

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 615
4. The last condition on which the Union can be preserved
is, — " No State shall be prevented from coming into the Union
on the ground of having slavery." This is an unkind cut at
Mr: Webster, since he has again and again pledged himself
against the admission of slave States. Even so early as 1819,
he advocated, in a public meeting at Boston, a resolution declar
ing that . Congress
" Possessed the constitutional power, upon the admission of any new
State created beyond the limits of the original territory of the United
States, to make the prohibition of the further extension of slavery or
involuntary servitude in such new State a condition of admission.
That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is just and expedient that this
power should be exercised by Congress upon the admission of all new
States created beyond the original limits of the United States."
In his New York speech, in 1837, he averred,
" When it is proposed to bring new members into the political part
nership, the old members have a right to say on what terms such new
partners are to come in, and what they are to bring along with them."
In his Springfield speech, he insisted,
" There is no one (he forgot Mr. Foote and his other southern
friends) who can complain of the North for resisting the increase of
slave representation, because it gives power to the minority in a manner
inconsistent with the principles of our government."
So late as 1848, he proclaimed on the floor of the Senate,
" I shall oppose all such extension (slave representation) at ah times
and under all circumstances, even against all inducements, against all
combinations, against all compromises."
The State of Georgia, in her convention of December last,
added & fifth condition to those stated by Mr. Foote as indispen
sable to the preservation of the Union, viz. : — " No act sup
pressing the slave-trade between the slave-holding States."
Unfortunately for Mr. Webster, he is here, for the fifth time,
virtually held up as a disorganizer, and an enemy of the Union ;
for in his speech in the Senate (February 6, 1837) he remarked :
" As to the point, the right of regulating the transfer of slaves from
one State to another, he did not know that he entertained any doubt,
because the Constitution gave Congress the right to regulate trade and

616 jay's works.
commerce between the States. Trade in what? In whatever Was
the subject of commerce and ownership. If slaves were the subjects
of ownership, then trade in them between the States was subject to the
regulation of Congress."
Mr. Webster declared, that the work of the two days in
which he rejoiced had fortified the Constitution, and strengthened
the bond of the Union ; and yet we are now solemnly warned,
by the very men and party with whom he is acting, that the
bond is to be severed, should Congress pass any one of five laws,
all and each of which he, the great expounder, declares the
Constitution authorizes Congress to pass. So it seems the
great peril to which we are exposed, the course which is to
make the fabric of our government to tremble over the heads of
the people of Boston, is, not the violation of the Constitution,
nor the breach of its compromises, nor the invasion of the rights
of the South, but the exercise by Congress of powers which Mr.
Webster declares to be undoubtedly constitutional. The aboh
tionists supposed they were following a safe guide when they
confined themselves, in their petitions to Congress for legislative
action against slavery, exclusively to such measures as they
were assured, by the eminent expounder, were strictly constitu
tional. The abolitionists have sympathized with this gentleman
in the obloquy he incurred, in common with themselves, for
holding opinions unpalatable to the slave-holders, and for main
taining the constitutional rights of Congress. Because he
insisted, in the Senate, on the power of Congress over slavery
and the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, Mr. Rives, of
Virginia, was so unkind as to say, that the gentleman from Mas
sachusetts, " if it so pleased his fancy, might disport himself in
tossing squibs and firebrands about this hall ; but those who are
sitting upon a barrel of gunpowder, liable to be blown up by
his dangerous missiles, could hardly be expected to be quite
as calm and philosophic." Because he presented anti-slavery
petitions, and insisted on the duty of Congress to consider them,
Mr. King, of Alabama, affirmed that the course which the
senator from Massachusetts had taken had " placed him at the
head of those men who are inundating Congress with their
petitions." Strange as it may now seem, Mr. Cuthbert, of

LETTER T& SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 61?
Georgia, told Mr. Webster to his face in the Senate, " The gen
tleman had uniformly been opposed to all those measures which
tended to quiet the country and heal those sectional dissensions
which distract the Union." * Surely, when the abohtionists
have so long made Mr. Webster their polar star in all constitu
tional questions, and have incurred with him the accusation of
tossing squibs and firebrands, and of opposing measures which
tended to quiet the country and settle sectional dissensions, they
had a right to expect from his friends a larger share of compas
sion and forbearance ' than they have experienced.
It would seem, sir, that, in the late treaty of peace between
the North and the South, it has been agreed and understood,
that every power granted by the Constitution whereby slavery
can be protected, extended, and perpetuated, is to be actively
enforced ; and that every power which might be used for cur
tailing human bondage, however unquestionable may be its
grant, shall forever remain dormant, under the penalty of an
immediate dissolution of the Union. This, sir, is the treaty
which our commercial cities are glorifying ; this is the treaty
which has turned our " winter of discohtent " into " glorious
summer." And think you, sir, that the slave-holders, having
eyes, see not, and having understandings, perceive not, the
haberdashery patriotism which rejoices in such a treaty, and
denounces as " fanatics," " vipers," and " woolly-headed philan
thropists," all who do not confess it to be a glorious consumma
tion ? The southern papers tell us that our Union meetings
are got up to ll sell a little more tape and flannel," and they
remark, " It is very queer that Union meetings are held only in
places which trade with the South." Out of regard to their
southern brethren, a member of the British House of Commons
was insulted in Faneuil Hall by a portion of the Boston people,
and forthwith the New Orleans Delta, instead of gratefully ac
knowledging the compliment, remarks, that their " good Union-
loving friends in Boston are now solacing the South, with sugar
plums in the shape of resolutions and speeches, and spice in the
form of a row, got up on the occasion of the first appearance of
* Speech, June 8, 1836.

618 jay's WORKS.
George Thompson, an imported incendiary and hireling agitator.
Such manifestation possesses an advantage which doubtless con
stitutes no small recommendation with our good brethren of
Boston, — it is very cheap. The cottoncratical clerks and
warehousemen may raise a hubbub in Faneuil Hall, but the
fanatics can slay them at the polls."
It is some consolation to those who are now suffering all the
contempt and opprobrium which can be thrown both upon their
heads and their hearts, because they have refused to follow Mr.
Webster in the devious paths' in which it has lately been his
pleasure to walk, that they have by their constancy and firmness
extorted from their southern antagonists a tribute which is not
paid to their revilers. Said Mr. Stanley, of Virginia, in his
speech in the House of Representatives last March, speaking of
a certain class of northern politicians, — "I would say, with a
slight alteration of one of Canning's verses, —
" ' Give me the avowed, erect, and manly foe,
Open I can meet, perhaps may turn, his blow ;
But of all the plagues, great Heaven, thy wrath can send,
Save, 0 save me from a dough-face friend ! ' "
In closing this long letter, permit me to advert to the opinion
expressed abroad of your Fugitive Law. Mr. WeDS*er thought
it convenient to quote the sentiment of a nameless correspondent,
as to the mischievous mixture of religion with politics. Pos
sibly the opinion of Dr. Lushington, one of the Lords of the
Privy Council, Judge of the Vice- Admiralty Court, and the ne
gotiator, on the part of Great Britain, of a recent treaty with
France, may be entitled to at least equal weight. This gentle
man, in a private letter to an English friend, and not intended
for publication, thus speaks of your law :
" No one can feel more sincerely than myself, abhorrence of the
Fugitive Slave Bill, — a measure as cruel and unchristian as ever
disgraced any country."
An Irish liberal, writing from Dublin, says :
" I long looked to your country as the ark of the world's liberties.
I confess I hope for this no longer. The Fugitive Slave Bill is a

LETTER TO SAMUEL A. ELIOT. 619
shocking sample of the depravity of public sentiment in the United
States. _ So atrocious a measure could not have passed into a law, if
the majority of the people had not actively assented, or passively con
sented. Here, by the preponderating influence of our aristocracy, a
small, but compact body, measures are often carried into laws that are
very distasteful to multitudes ; but such a mean, vile law as the Fugi
tive Slave Bill could not pass in England."
The English press, Whig, Tory, and Radical, is indignant at
the atrocities of your law. The taunt of our slave-holders, that
the English had better reform abuses at home, is thus met by a
radical journal, The People:
" The Americans laugh at us when we speak of American slavery,
so long as so many of our fellow-subjects in England and Ireland are
perishing from starvation through monarchial and aristocratical tyranny.
We answer, that the Americans know that the men and women who
lift up their voices against American slavery are the enemies of British
tyranny and oppression."
Your law, sir, degrades the national character abroad ; its ex
cessive servility to southern dictation excites the contempt of
the slave-holders for the easy, selfish virtue of their northern
auxiliaries, while its outrages upon religion, justice, humanity,
and the dearest principles of personal freedom, under pretence
of preserving the Union, weaken the attachment of conscientious
men for a confederacy which requires such horrible sacrifices for
its continuance. All these evils might have been easily avoided
by a law satisfying every requirement of the Constitution, and
yet treating the alleged fugitive as a man, and granting him the
same protection as is accorded to an alleged murderer. God
gave you, sir, an opportunity for which you ought to have been
grateful, of illustrating your Puritan descent by standing forth
before the nation as an advocate of justice and freedom, and of
the rights of the poor and oppressed. Through a blind devotion
to a political leader, you rejected the palm which Providence
tendered to your acceptance, and have indelibly associated your
name with cruelty and injustice. Had you retired from the no
tice of the public, as you did from the suffrages of the electors,
you had acted wisely. In an evil hour for yourself, you stood
forth as the champion of the Fugitive Slave Law. Its enemies

620 jay's works.
rejoice in your rashness, for your feeble apology has rendered
its deformities more prominent, and, by failing to vindicate, you
have virtually confessed its abominations. May you live, sir, to
deplore the grievous error you have committed, and, by your
future efforts in behalf of human freedom and happiness, atone
for the wound they have received at your hand.
February, 1851

AN ADDRESS
TO THE ANTI-SLAVERY CHEISTIANS OF THE UNITED
STATES. SIGNED BY A NUMBER OF CLERGY
MEN AND OTHERS.

June, 185 2.

Friends and Brethren : — We address you in behalf of
the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. Approving
of the principles avowed and the measures pursued by that
association, we beg leave to submit to you the considerations
which peculiarly entitle it at the present juncture to the active
sympathy and effectual aid of the friends of the anti-slavery
cause. While the advocates of constitutional government in Europe
are lamenting a wide-spread reaction in behalf of despotic
authority, the friends of the inalienable rights of man behold
with grief and mortification a similar reaction in our own Re
public, in behalf of a despotism more inexorable, and more
hostile to human progress and happiness, than any which afflicts
the eastern continent. In both instances, the reaction is more
apparent than real. Opinions in favor of human liberty remain
the same, but the expression of them has, to a greater or less
degree, been stifled by a sudden, mighty, and combined effort of
capitalists and pohticians, aided to a great extent by ecclesias
tical influence, and in each case accompanied with violated
pledges and revolting perfidy.
53

622 jay's works.
In our own community, the cause of Christian morals has
been deeply wounded, and a new impulse given to infidelity, by
the various modes adopted by merchants, politicians, and divines
to conciliate the slave-holding interest. Doctrines have been
advanced on high authority respecting the supremacy of human
laws, which, if true, convict the " noble army of martyrs," in
cluding the blessed apostles themselves, of being but felons and
traitors. Public men, and even public meetings, have professed
in unqualified terms their ignorance of a higher law than the
Federal Constitution. Rich men among us have given of their
abundance to reduce to slavery the fugitive from bondage ; and
lawyers, heretofore regarded as reputable, have not shrunk from
taking reward against the innocent, and prostituting a noble
profession to the service of the slave-catcher. The sympathy
heretofore felt for the victim of oppression who had escaped
from his prison-house, and the repugnance manifested to aid in
his arrest, have been denounced as " prejudices to be conquered ; "
and lips which once uttered noble words in behalf of human
rights, have been busily employed in proclaiming to republicans
the duty and the glory of catching slaves. Nay, some professed
ambassadors of the merciful Jesus have announced from their
pulpits that He has sanctioned the conversion into articles of
merchandise of beings charged with no crime, made a little
lower than the angels, and redeemed by his own blood ! A law
has been passed for the recovery of fugitive slaves, which, for
its cool violation of all the received and acknowledged principles
of judicial justice, for its outrages on humanity, and for its arbi
trary requirement of every citizen to assist in a slave-hunt when
commanded by an ofiicial menial, is unexampled in the legislation
of any Christian country. Yet an active agency in the execu
tion of this most detestable law has been made, even by professed
ministers of the gospel, a test of Christian obedience.
The success which has thus far attended the combined effort
to which we have referred, has been in a great measure owing
to the fanoied security of the North and the simulated violence
of the South.
The war against Mexico was waged for the acquisition of

address to anti-slavery christians. 623
slave territory, and great was the fear felt by the North that
human bondage would be extended to the shores of the Pacific.
No less than fourteen States protested, through their Legisla
tures, against any enlargement of the area of slavery. The
voice of Daniel Webster was raised to warn his countrymen of
the impending calamity, and to approve and enforce the great
principles announced by the Free Soil Convention at Buffalo.
The innate love of liberty was awakened throughout the North,
and its representatives in Congress bowed to the will of their
constituents ; and all the devices of the slave-holders to procure
territorial governments for the conquered territories, allowing
the slavery of a portion of the inhabitants, were defeated. Soon,
the Wilmot proviso, applied, with the assistance of Daniel
Webster, to Oregon, secured that important territory to freedom.
This was followed by the joyful intelligence that New Mexico
and California had both adopted State Constitutions prohibiting
slavery. A shout of victory ascended from the North, and the
greatness of the triumph was supposed to be attested by the
wailings of desperation uttered by the slave-holders. It was at
this moment of fancied security that the capitalists and pohticians
contrived a panic about the Union, and traders in southern votes
and merchandise devised the patriotic work of saving the Union,
by surrendering the territories of New Mexico and Utah to the
slave-holders, and making slave-hunting a national sport, under
regulations of extraordinary cruelty. The work was hastened
on by the most astounding treachery, supported by the audacious
assumption that the law of physical geography and Asiatic
scenery rendered it physically impossible that any portion of the
vast region conquered from Mexico could ever be trodden by
slaves. A dissolution of the Union could have no other effect on the
slave-holding interest than to break down those bulwarks which
the Federal Government, from its beginning, has been busy in
raising around it, and to rouse all beyond the slave territory into
active hostihty. But although the Union was in little danger,
the work of saving it was no less profitable than patriotic, as it
tended to prevent the political and commercial non-intercourse

624 jay's works.
threatened by the South ; and the proceedings of Union-saving
committees were found a convenient mode of advertising for the
trade and the votes of the slave-holders. In this manner an
influence was exerted which, aided by the supposed security of
the North, led to the so-called Compromise, in which the fruits
of the recent victory were all thrown away, with the single
exception of the anti-slavery Constitution of California. Some
thing was indeed gained to the character of the national capital,
by prohibiting the importation of slaves for sale, but nothing to
the cause of humanity, since the traffic was only transferred from
Washington to Alexandria. In return for the California Con
stitution, which Congress could not have prevented and did not
dare to annul, we have had the prodigious enlargement of the
slave State of Texas, the abandonment of New Mexico and
Utah to slavery, and the enactment of the fugitive bill, as drafted
by the slave-holders themselves, forced through the House of
Representatives without discussion, and so intensely odious and
wicked, that not even personal interest nor party discipline could
induce one half of the members of the Lower House to incur
the infamy of giving it their votes.
The political parties, having thus conciliated the. slave-holders,
.entered upon a new race between themselves for power and
office, and mutually agreed to prevent, as far as possible, all
interference in the race by the avowed friends of human rights.
The anti-slavery agitation was to be suppressed at all hazards ;
and every man who expressed sympathy for the oppressed, or
indignation against slave-hunts, was to be driven from either
party. By virtue of this compact, similar in its spirit to that
which in Europe is smothering every aspiration for freedom, all
who protest against the oppression of millions of native-born
Americans, are to be deemed disturbers of the pubhc peace,
while the powers of slave-holders, like those of kings, are to be
regarded as held "by the grace of God, and too sacred tobe
discussed or questioned.
It is under these circumstances, painful, mortifying, and unex
pected, that we address ourselves to the anti-slavery Christians
of the United States. The whole question of the duty of oppo-

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 625
sition to slavery rests on the sinfulness of reducing innocent
men and women, and their children after them, to articles of
merchandise. If human beings may be held as chattels, they
are, of course, legitimate subjects of traffic, and the African, no
less than the American slave-trade, is a commendable and a
Christian commerce. The lawfulness of slavery in no degree
depends on the complexion of its victims, since the slavery
alleged to be recognized in the Scriptures was unquestionably
that of Asiatics and Europeans. None of our clerical champions
of the institution ever venture to dwell on its accordance with
the attributes of the Deity, or the precepts of the gospel. On
what ground, then, is the moral vindication of American slavery
rested ? On the alleged fact that God permitted the Jews to
hold certain heathen as slaves, and that, consequently, it cannot
be morally wrong in Americans to hold their own countrymen,
and even their fellow-Christians, and often their own children,
brothers and sisters, as slaves. Without admitting the premises,
we utterly deny the conclusion drawn from them. The Creator
and Judge of all men, infinite in wisdom, goodness, justiee, and
power, selects his own modes of maintaining his moral govern
ment, and of inflicting deserved punishment ; and none may say
unto him, " What doest thou ? " To him belongeth vengeance,
and none may execute it in his name, except by his appoint
ment. He saw fit to destroy by water a guilty world ; but will
it be inferred from this act of divine sovereignty that saints have
a moral right to drown sinners ? For their extreme wickedness,
the seven nations of Palestine were doomed to extermination,
and the Jews were ordered to take possession of their land, and
to put all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, to the
sword ; to make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto
thenL" Does this commission to the Jews confer upon us similar
rights in other lands ? The nations adjoining Palestine were
idolatrous and otherwise excessively depraved; and we are
assured by pro-slavery divines that God, by an express revelation,
gave the Jews the privilege of buying and holding their inhab
itants as slaves ; and hence we are taught that, without any
similar revelation to ourselves, we are authorized to keep our
53»

626 jay's WORKS.
own brethren in bonds, and to reduce them to the condition of
beasts of burden, in defiance of the express commands of God
to do justice and to love mercy, and to do to others as we would
they should do unto us. We utterly deny the authorized ex
istence of hereditary chattel slavery in the Jewish common
wealth, such slavery being absolutely forbidden by the universal
emancipation proclaimed on each returning Jubilee. But so far
as relates to the lawfulness of American slavery, it is wholly
immaterial whether the Jews held slaves or not, since it is ad
mitted by all that if they did, they acted by virtue of. a special
and express permission from God, while it is equally admitted
that no such permission has been given to us. If American
slavery be sanctioned by the religion of Jesus Christ, then,
indeed, is that religion an inextricable riddle, both tolerating and
forbidding every species of cruelty, injustice, and oppression.
Friends and brethren, we believe before God that American
slavery is hateful in his sight, and utterly irreconcilable with the
holy and merciful precepts of the gospel of his Son. Hence,
we believe it morally wrong to render any voluntary aid in
upholding an iniquitous system, or in reducing a fellow-man to
bondage. We are continually told that the Federal Government has
nothing to do with slavery, and yet from a very early period its
powers have been exerted to protect, to extend, and to perpetuate
the institution. It is the object of the American and Foreign
Anti-Slavery Society to effect, as far as possible, an entire
divorce of the Federal Government from the subject of slavery.
In relation to the constitutional powers of the Federal Govern
ment, we indulge in no opinions more ultra than such as have
been avowed by Daniel Webster himself. With him we hold
that Congress is fully authorized to abolish and to forbid slavery
in its own territories, to suppress the commerce in slaves between
the States, and to refuse admission into the Union of new slave
States. We also cordially concur in his "judgment," expressed
in his speech in the Senate, on the 7th of March, 1850, that the
Constitution does not confer on Congress the right to legislate
respecting fugitive slaves. In accordance with these views, the

address to anti-slavery christians. 627
American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society aims at delivering.
the General Government from all entangling alliance with
slavery, and they desire to effect this much desired deliverance
by inducing the people to select for their representatives in
Congress such men only as will resolutely refuse to legislate in
behalf of slavery.
But as anti-slavery Christians, our duties in regard to this
horrible and sinful system extend beyond the jurisdiction of
the Federal Government, and reach even to the slave-holders
themselves. True Christianity is an aggressive religion. " Go
ye into all the world," was the command of its divine founder.
Can it be our duty to send missionaries into China and Hindos-
tan, to rebuke the sins of their inhabitants, and to prostrate in
the dust their altars and their gods, and yet to observe the silence
of the grave in regard to a sin which, in our own country,
reduces millions to ignorance, degradation, and wretchedness,
and, by denying them the lamp of life, keeps them in virtual
heathenism ? Convinced that slavery is a sin, we have not only
the right, but are bound by the obligations of Christianity, to
oppose it, and to use all lawful means for its abolition, whether
in our own or other countries. If slavery be not sinful, then we
know not what degree of cruelty and injustice amounts to a
violation of the law of God.
A combination of circumstances has led many of our clergy
at the North, and nearly all at the South, to regard slavery, with
all its inseparable abominations, an exception from the Christian
code. We must love all men as ourselves, with the exception
of such as are black. With the same exception, we must do
good unto all men, and exercise justice and mercy to all. We
must give Bibles to men of all lands and all races, except to
about three millions of blacks in our midst. The laws must
protect the marriage tie, except in the case of these same mil
lions. Supplications must be made for all men, except those
among us who are of all men the most miserable. In short, as
Christians, we must rebuke every sin except that giant sin of
our nation which involves the perpetration of almost every other.
But it is affirmed, by way of apology, that we at the North are

628 jay's works.
free from this sin, and have therefore no concern with it. Were
the assertion true, the apology would be equally valid for not
attempting to overthrow the idolatry of the Hindoos, or the
delusions of the false prophet, and for recalling all our mission
aries to the heathen. But unfortunately the assertion is utterly
destitute of truth. Brobably not a sermon is preached in our
large city churches which is not listened to by slave-holders ;
probably not a congregation is assembled in the free States
which does not include persons directly or indirectly interested
in slavery. How many of our sons are constantly removing to
the South, and becoming slave-holders ! What numbers of our
daughters are mistresses on slave plantations I How many
northern clergymen now descant from southern pulpits on the
divine rights of slave-holders! And shall we be told that
northern Christians have no cause to raise their voices against
a sin which is daily corrupting their sons, their daughters, their
politicians, and their clergy ? Alas ! there is a mighty conspi
racy, prompted by selfish considerations, to suppress all discussion
of this sin, all exhibition of its withering influence on human
virtue and happiness. We have great national societies for
disseminating Christian truth ; but no reader of their tracts and
Sunday school books learns from their pages that it is sinful to
rob black men of all their rights ; to compel them to labor with
out wages ; to deny them the Holy Scriptures ; and to send
fathers, mothers, and children to market, like cattle" and bales of
cotton. All other sins are in these publications faithfully and
freely rebuked ; but every allusion to this great and all-pervading
sin of our nation is carefully excluded. Occasionally, a tract or
religious biography from the other side of the water is deemed
worthy of republication ; but it is first submitted to a process
significantly termed " cottonizing," and which consists in care
fully expunging every expression condemnatory of human bond
age. The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, utterly
repudiating such a time-serving view of Christian duty, aims at
convincing the hearts and understandings of all, both at the
North and at the South, of the sinfulness of American slavery.
It must, however, be understood, that this Society directs its

address to anti-slavery christians. 629
labors to the abolition of caste as well as of slavery. We
have among ourselves a population, each individual of which is
a swift witness of our cruelty and unchristian conduct. While
protesting against the injustice and oppression practised by our
southern brethren, let us not forget the deep guilt of our north
ern community in their treatment of the free people of color.
No casuisty can reconcile the scorn and contumely poured upon
these people with the precepts of the gospel of Clirist ; of that
gospel which makes love for each other the badge of the Re
deemer's disciples. It is unnecessary to dwell on the privations
and disabilities to which our colored citizens are subjected.
When the professed ministers of Christ refuse to sit in the
councils of the church with their reverend brethren not colored
like themselves, and when colored candidates for the ministry
are excluded from theological seminaries solely on account of
the tincture of their skin, it is not surprising that others should
be as regardless of the temporal, as certain of the clergy are of
the spiritual welfare of men to whom God has been pleased to
give a dark complexion. When the pious colored youth is
denied the usual facilities for qualifying him to minister to the
diseases of the souls of his people, who shall rigidly condemn
the professors of the healing art for denying similar facilities
for ministering to the diseases of the body, by excluding colored
students from their lecture-rooms ? Surely, the ruffians who
insult and abuse the colored man, and the demagogues who,
availing themselves of a popular prejudice, deny him equality
before the law, have high examples to extenuate, if not to justify
their pride and cruelty. In striving to secure to our colored
people the rights freely accorded to all others, and thus giving
them the means of maintaining themselves by honest industry,
of developing and improving their talents, and of studying the
things which belong to their peace, the Society is pursuing an
object in perfect accordance with Christian benevolence, and
one that must commend itself to every unprejudiced mind.
In our opposition to slavery and caste, we desire to use no
instruments of unsanctified temper ; nor have we any wish to
conceal those we do use. Believing it sinful to compel an inno-

630 jay's works.
cent man to serve as a slave, we must refuse to be partakers
of other men's sins ; and hence, under no circumstances, can we
aid in catching or securing fugitive slaves, whatever may be the
penalties of our disobedience to a sinful act of Congress. It will
be the endeavor of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery So
ciety to dissuade all from joining in slave-hunts, as a palpable
violation of Christian duty. Setting aside the moral turpitude
of slavery, the fugitive slave act comprises a mass of iniquity in
no degree required by the provisions of the Constitution. The
act points out the mode of seizing and surrendering, not slaves,
but persons owing service or labor, and is therefore applicable to
white apprentices, and to persons under contract to labor for a
limited time. Apprentices have already been surrendered under
it, and there is no reason why others, who are alleged to have
hired themselves out for a month or a year, may not be. To
illustrate the intense injustice of this act, let us suppose a young
man to leave his father's home, in Boston or New York, for
California. After the lapse of a year or two, he returns. While
pursuing an honest calling, he is arrested in the street, on the
charge of stealing — the stereotype charge in such cases, to pre
vent resistance — and hurried before a commissioner. An affi
davit made in California, and there certified by a judge, is read,
setting forth that the prisoner is the apprentice of the deponent.
Immediately, without being permitted to produce any testimony
to rebut a document which the law declares shall be conclu
sive, he is put in irons, and sent on board a vessel departing for
the Pacific, without being permitted to take leave of his parents,
wife, or children. Do we revolt at the mere supposition of such
barbarity ? But does the barbarity and injustice depend on the
complexion of the victim ? That the Constitution requires the
perpetration of such horrible outrages on justice and humanity, is
denied even by Daniel Webster, the great champion of the law
since he proposed giving the accused the benefit of a trial by jury.
We should be faithless to the cause not only of Christianity, but of
civil liberty, did we not oppose an enactment so detestably atro
cious ; one which establishes a title to property in an intelligent,
accountable, immortal being, on testimony which in no civilized
country would support the claim to a dog.

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 631
The cruelty and heartlessness attending the execution of this
law, the extraordinary zeal which our rich men and politicians
manifest in its behalf, the sanction given to it by popular divines,
and the infidel sneers which many of our party presses have
deemed it expedient to cast on the advocates of a " higher law "
than an act pf Congress, have unitedly exerted a most disastrous
influence on the tone of public morals. One of the most strik
ing instances of this influence is the vile attempt made in Penn
sylvania, under the especial countenance of the Federal Admin
istration, to convert resistance to the execution of the Fugitive
Act into the capital crime of high treason. A fugitive, who had
been arrested at Boston, was liberated by some of his colored
friends, who, finding the door of his room in the court-house
open, hustled the officer, and secured the escape of the intended
victim. Not a weapon had been provided, not a wound was
given ; yet the rescue was boldly proclaimed by Mr. Webster,
Secretary of State, to be an act of treason, a levying of war
against the United States !
On the 11th of September, 1851, a more serious affair occurred.
An armed party, headed by a deputy-marshal, attempted to
arrest some fugitive slaves in Pennsylvania. The fugitives, aided
by some others, stood on their defence. The claimant, a Mary
land slave-holder, was shot in the affray, and the fugitives
escaped.. Five days after, the Governor of Maryland was
officially informed, from the " Department of State," that " the
District Attorney was especially instructed to ascertain whether
the facts would make out the crime of treason against the
United States, and, if so, to take prompt measures to secure all
concerned for trial for that offence." Faithfully and zealously
were the orders from Washington obeyed. Incredible as it may
seem, a grand jury was found with consciences sufficiently pliant
to present no less than seventy-eight indictments against thirty-
nine persons, alleged to have been concerned in the riot. All
were indicted for treason, as well as for various crimes of in
ferior grade.
Let it be recollected that the Constitution, to prevent tyran
nical prosecutions for constructive treason, declares : " Treason

632 jay's works.
against the United States shall consist only in levying War
against them, or in adhering to fJaeir enemies, giving them aid
and comfort." It may well be supposed that the Government
selected for the commencement of the prosecutions the strongest
case of the thirty-nine. On the 25th of November, Castner
Hanway, a white man of irreproachable character, was placed
at the bar, charged, on the oaths of the grand jury, that on the
11th of September, 1851, "he did wickedly and traitor
ously LEVY WAR AGAINST THE UNITED STATES." The Only
offence proved against him was, that, he was near the scene of
action, unarmed, and on horseback, and that, when ordered by
the deputy -marshal to aid him in capturing the fugitives, like
an honest man, he declined rendering the required assistance.
The presiding judge charged the jury that "The Court feel
bound to say, that they do not think the transaction with which
the prisoner is charged with being connected, rises to the dignity
of treason or of levying war;" and a verdict of not guilty was
returned without hesitation. This verdict led the Government
to abandon all the indictments for treason, among which was
one against Samuel Williams, a colored man, for levying war
against the United States, by giving notice to the fugitives that
a warrant had been issued for their arrest ! But still an effort
was made to punish him for this act of benevolence, and he was
tried on an indictment for misdemeanor, under the Fugitive Act,
for obstructing the arrest by his notice, and for which, if con
victed, he was liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars,
and imprisonment not exceeding six months. The trial by jury
was again vindicated by a verdict of acquital. All the prosecu
tions were then abandoned in despair ; and if the gallows and
the prisons were denied their intended victims, the Government
could at least beseech the slave-holders to accept the wiU for
the deed, especially as it is said no less than seventy thousand
dollars were expended on these prosecutions from the pubhc
treasury. In connection with the Fugitive Act, we ask your attention to
the renewed efforts to transport the free people of color to Africa.
We freely acknowledge not only the right of these people to

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 633
seek a more favorable home than this country affords, but also
the right and duty of others to afford them, according to circum
stances, the aid they may desire for this purpose. But the
American Colonization Society proffers them undesired aid, and
recommends their removal to Africa, as rendering slavery more
secure and more profitable, and relieving the country of a popu
lation which it represents as a " nuisance." To induce them to
accept the proffered aid, the oppressions they here suffer are
excused and often justified, while attempts to render their con
dition here more tolerable, by promoting their intellectual im
provement and enlarging the field of their industry, are discoun
tenanced. In short, the whole tendency of the Society is, by
rendering their condition here intolerable, to extort their consent
to go to Africa. We all know the extreme anxiety of the slave
holders to expel the free blacks from within their borders. Says
a late South Carolina paper,* recommending the State "to ship
her free negroes to another land," " The very condition and the
circumstances that surround the free negro are in direct hostility
and diametrically opposed to the institution of slavery." Mr.
Webster, in his memorable speech of 7th March, 1850, adroitly
recommended himself to his new patrons by declaring that
eighty millions had been received from the sale of lands
ceded by Virginia ; and that, " If Virginia and the South see fit
to adopt any proposition to relieve themselves from the free
people of color among them, they have my free consent that the
Government shall pay them any sum of money out of the pro
ceeds which may be adequate for the purpose." And again :
"If any gentleman from the South shall propose a scheme of
colonization to be carried on by this Government upon a large
scale, for the transportation of her colored people to any colony
or any place in the world, I should be quite disposed to incur
almost any degree of expense to accomplish the object." Of
course, the Secretary of State is willing to tax the whole repub
lic to any amount not exceeding eighty millions, not to benefit
the free people of color, not to civilize and Christianize Africa,
but to banish to any part of the world hundreds of thousands of
* Greenfield Mountaineer.
51

634 jay's works.
his own countrymen, solely and avowedly to relieve the slave
holders, and give additional security and permanence to the
system of human bondage ; and this gentleman is now the pub
lic champion of the American Colonization Society. Hence a
sense of Christian duty will forbid the American and Foreign
Anti-Slavery Society from holding any relation to that Society
other than that of uncompromising hostility.
We have in our country a population, free and bond, of be
tween three and four millions, who, merely on account of their
complexion, are treated with an almost total disregard of that
justice and humanity enjoined by the religion we profess. The
American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society are laboring to
secure to them that Christian treatment to which the gospel of
Christ entitles them. In this work of mercy, they invoke, and
have a right to invoke, the countenance and aid of the Church.
We are not unconscious that the Church has, in past ages, been
frequently faithless to her high mission of cultivating peace and
good-will among men ; and he is but little acquainted with pass
ing events who is ignorant that the American Church is at this
moment one of the strongest buttresses of American caste and
slavery. Would we, then, if we could, destroy the Church ?
God forbid. If the world is so full of sin and wretchedness
notwithstanding the Church, what would it be without a Church ?
The answer may be found in the cruelties and abominations of
paganism. But the ministers of Christ are men of like passions
with others, and liable, like others, to be swayed by popular
opinion and motives of self-interest. It is possible many of the
clergy have not reflected that, in supporting and vindicating
slavery, they are lending their countenance to an institution
which outrages every moral precept they inculcate from the pul
pit. What answer will the northern clerical slave-catcher, or the
southern reverend slave-breeder and slave-trader return to the
inspired question, " He that loveth not his brother whom he hath
seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen ? " Surely
it is worthy of remembrance that, at the day of final account,
the Judge will consider as done to himself both the kindness and
the cruelty shown to the least of his brethren.

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 635
We are constantly reminded that the Church is the great
instrument of moral reform. Most gratefully do we allow that
the precepts of the gospel are sufficient for all the moral necessi
ties of man. " Do to others as you would they should do unto
you, is a law which if obeyed, would of itself banish slavery and
oppression from the face of the earth. But unhappily the
Church, or at least a portion of her ministers, have not always
applied the precepts of the gospel to existing and popular sins.
It is certainly no exaggerated statement, that not one sermon in
a thousand delivered at the North contains the slightest allusion
to the duties of Christians towards the colored population ; while
at the South multitudes of the clergy are as deeply involved in
the iniquities of slavery as their hearers. It is no libel on the
great body of our northern clergy to say that, in regard to the
wrongs of the colored people, instead of performing the part of
the good Samaritan, their highest merit consists in following the
example of the priest and Levite, and passing by on the other
side, without inflicting new injuries on their wounded brother.
But we rejoice to know that there are ministers of Christ among
us, and not a few, to whom these remarks are wholly inapplica
ble ; men who pray and preach and labor against slavery and
caste, and thus adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour. We
rejoice also to know that such ministers are appreciated and
honored by Christians abroad of every name. The clergy of
England, Scotland, and Ireland decline admitting into their
pulpits clergymen from this country holding what they deem
heretical doctrines ; but can they exclude any for a fouler heresy
than that which abrogates all the Christian precepts of justice
and mercy in their application to colored men ? We trugt our
friends in Great Britain will not weaken our hands, and
strengthen the pro-slavery influence of our churches, by over
looking, in their reception of American clergymen, the course
they have pursued at home on the subject of slavery. They
may be perfectly assured that the American clergyman, who,
abroad, is too dignified to be questioned as to his opinions on
human bondage, is at home too patriotic to offer any vigorous
opposition to the " peculiar institution " of his country.

636 jay's works.
We have thus frankly stated the objects of the American and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and confidently ask if they are
not objects worthy to be pursued by rational, accountable Chris
tian men ? Nay, we go farther, and ask, has not a Society pur
suing such objects valid claims on the countenance and generous
aid of every philanthropist and every Christian in our country ?
Hostility to slavery has frequently been associated with
r various objects of political and moral reform. It is natural it
should be so, since the same love for our neighbor which revolts
at his oppression seeks to advance his general welfare. But
experience has fully proved that associated action cannot be
efficiently maintained in behalf of various plans, respecting
which the individuals associated entertain diverse opinions.
Hence the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, with
out passing any judgment on other proposed reforms, confine
their efforts in their associated capacity to the abohtion of caste
and slavery, leaving to their members individually the full and
entire liberty of advocating and promoting, in such way as they
may think proper, any other reforms, moral or political. We
believe every man is bound to exercise the elective franchise in
the fear of God ; but while we shall ever rejoice in the election
of virtuous rulers who will do justice and love mercy, it is not
the province of the Society to recommend particular individuals
for the suffrages of their fellow-citizens.
It is consoling to us to know that, in the sentiments we have
expressed, we enjoy the sympathy of almost all without the
limits of our own country who bear the Christian name. A
vast multitude on our own soil hold the same sentiments, and,
did they act with one heart and one voice, would soon triumph
over the prejudice which supports caste, would array the
Church on the side of mercy, and rescue the Federal Govern
ment from its unholy and unconstitutional alliance with slavery.
But unfortunately, the sympathies of this multitude, not being
concentrated in action and counsel, are in no small degree
powerless for good. The anti-slavery host has been divided,
and of course enfeebled, by conflicting opinions on topics not
immediately affecting the colored man. For the sake of the

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 637
slave, for the prosperity of the country, for the good of the
Church herself, we earnestly desire the union of all abohtionists,
and their harmonious action in behalf of their colored brethren.
We ask all who approve the opinions we have expressed to
give vitality and energy to those opinions, by aiding the Ameri
can and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in disseminating and
enforcing them.
Public opinion is in this country the controller of legislation.
Hence, at one period a traffic in African savages was encour
aged by law, as an enlightened and legitimate commerce. At a
later period, all but two States were desirous to abandon it,
and, as a compromise, Congress was restricted from abolishing
it until after twenty years. At a still later period, a commerce
which had been guaranteed by the Federal Constitution was, by
an act of Congress, denounced as piracy. Public opinion now,
acting through the legislature, holds him a felon who brings to
our shores for sale a native African, while we have just seen a
citizen tried for his life because he declined to assist a slave-
catcher in reducing to slavery a native American. To buy and
sell Africans is wicked, base, and detestable ; to buy and sell
colored Americans is in perfect accordance with the most ex
alted position in both State and Church, In the city of New
York, we have seen " men of great stakes," merchant princes,
and others, lavishing courtesies on the most reckless and violent
champions of slavery when they honored them with their
presence ; and we have seen these same gentlemen giving aid
and comfort to the slave-catcher, without losing their place in
polite society.
Most certainly public opinion on these subjects is unsound,
and ought to be reformed. Very many of our clergy, and their
hearers, need to be reminded that the commands of God have
no reference to the color of a man's skin, but that all are equally
entitled to receive, and are equally bound to render, the justice
and benevolence enjoined by Him who is the common Father of
us all. Christians generally are to be warned not to be par
takers of other men's sins towards the colored race. The
54»

638 jay's works.
cruelty of State and Federal legislation is to be exposed ; the
influence of the colonization scheme in exasperating the
prejudice against our colored brethren is to be demonstrated,
and the public is to be fully instructed in the moral, social, and
political evils resulting from slavery and caste.
But how are these great ends to be accomplished ? Individu
al effort can do but httle. In the present age, the press is the
great lever by which the world is moved, but it can be
employed to a great extent only through the united pecuniary
contributions of many. The influence of a private abolitionist
can rarely reach beyond a contracted neighborhood ; but as a
member of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,
and a donor to its funds, he may address thousands. The
National Era was established at Washington with funds
supplied by the Society, and since repaid ; and it now weekly
addresses anti-slavery truth to seventeen thousand subscribers.
The Society greatly needs a periodical of its own, but its present
funds are insufficient for the establishment of one. Treatises
on various branches of this great subject are constantly offered
to the Society, but it lacks the means of giving them to the
. public through the press. Intelligent, well-informed lecturers
are wanted to awaken public attention, to collect popular assem
blies, and to enlist the sympathies of those whose avocations
deny them the opportunity of reading anti-slavery publications.
Agents are desired to aid in the formation of auxiliary societies.
Editors and authors are to be enlisted in the cause ; and fre
quently information and statistics, to be collected at much
expense of time and labor, are needed for the use of members of
Congress and other public men. The instrumentalities for in
fluencing public opinion and correcting prejudices and erroneous
statements are manifold, but they can be wielded only by asso
ciated funds and labors.
- A crisis has arrived in which the friends of the_anti-slavery
cause should reorganize and act together. Unless they do this,
their efforts to circumscribe the area of slavery, to break the
fetters of the slave, and to rescue the free colored man from his

ADDRESS TO ANTI-SLAVERY CHRISTIANS. 639
present degradation, will be fruitless. Should the present
mighty combination of capitalists, merchants, and politicians,
aided by a number of popular divines enlisted hi their service,
succeed in suppressing all manifestation of sympathy for the
slave, all discussion of the abominations of slavery, all compas
sion for the fugitive, the North will undoubtedly be prepared to
sanction the designs now entertained for the erection of New
Mexico, Utah, and Southern California into slave States, to
gether with the annexation of Cuba, Hayti, and the Sandwich
Islands, all to be added to the domain of the slave-holder. Let
us never forget that duties are ours, although events are not,
and that whatever may be the form in which it may please
Divine Providence to punish our guilty land, he requires us not
only to love mercy, but to do justice ; a command we fail to
obey, so long as we refuse to use lawful means to secure mercy
and justice to others. Very many have no other opportunity of
obeying this command, in regard to the colored race, than by
their pecuniary contributions to the anti-slavery cause. The
efforts of the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society are
now enfeebled by the exhausted state of their treasury.
Friends and brethren, we appeal to you in behalf of the
Society. In the language of Scripture, we exhort you to show
your faith by your works. So fully aware are our enemies of
the importance of influencing public opinion by the press, that a
paper has been established at the capital of our Repubhc for
the single and avowed purpose of vindicating and upholding
human bondage. A large portion of the newspaper press in our
commercial cities is enlisted in the same unholy cause. Public
rumor tells us, that a committee in the city of New York, com
prising many of its wealthiest citizens, raised a fund of one
hundred thousand dollars ; and knowing that opposition to
slavery has its strongest fortress in the religious sentiment, this
committee has spread broadcast through the land multitudes of
copies of pro-slavery sermons. While the votaries of Mammon
and the aspirants to political power and emolument are thus
active and zealous in supporting and extending a horrible and

640 jay's WORKS.
degrading despotism, to further their own selfish and ambitious
views, will not the friends of righteousness, justice, and mercy,
be up and doing ? We beseech you to reply by enrolling your
names among the members of the American and Foreign Anti-
Slavery Society, and by speedy and liberal contributions to its
treasury.

LETTER

TO REV. R. S. COOK, CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF
THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.

New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 1853.
Reverend Sir : I have been favored with your letter of
the last month, setting forth the pecuniary exigencies of the
American Tract Society, and suggesting to my " charitable con
sideration " a donation to its funds. Few persons hailed with
more satisfaction than myself the establishment of your Society, or
more cordially approved the truly catholic principles on which it
was founded. I long since became one of its ' Life Directors,'
and have frequently contributed to its funds. The professed
object of the Society was to inculcate Christian faith and prac
tice, and to a very great extent it has been faithful to its profes
sion, and I doubt not that it has been largely instrumental in
promoting the spiritual welfare of multitudes.
But the good effected by human agency is seldom without
alloy, and for some years, painful doubts have intruded them
selves on my mind as to the propriety of the course pursued by
the Society in regard to a most momentous subject. Against
these doubts I have long struggled, and at times with success.
But they have again and again returned with increased force,

642 jay's works.
and they have been so entirely confirmed by some recent devel
opments, that I am constrained to return a most reluctant denial
to the application in your letter. I am well aware of the deep
responsibility I assume in placing any obstacle, however slight,
in the way of the Society. Of this responsibility, the pain I
may give valued friends, and the obloquy I may draw upon my
self from a very minor portion — I feel the infinitely greater
weight of my responsibility to my Maker, for withholding my
aid from an agency that has effected so much for his glory and
the good of man. This responsibility I have anxiously pondered,
and have come to the conviction that I may not avoid it. The
facts and reasons which have produced this conviction I will
proceed to state. Should they be found insufficient to justify me,
they will tend to save others from the error into which I have
fallen ; and should they, on the other hand, be found valid, they
may lead to salutary results.
The classification of sins into those of commission and omis
sion is trite. All Scripture testifies that mere inaction has often
incurred the divine wrath. The Jewish priests, although sedu
lous in the routine of ceremonial duties, were denounced, in the
indignant language of inspiration, as "dumb dogs," because
they omitted to rebuke popular sins. In the account of the last
judgment, those who are to "go away into everlasting punish
ment " are not condemned as heretics, nor as the perpetrators of
crime, but as guilty of having omitted to administer to the neces
sities of Christ's afflicted and oppressed brethren.
You have by this time, sir, anticipated that my charge against
the Society is one of omission. There is a giant, and in its
influence an all-pervading sin, in our land — a sin which is de
stroying the peace and happiness of millions, both for the life
that is, and for that which is to come ; and which is hardening
the hearts and paralyzing the consciences of many more by its
reflective consequences. Yet the American Tract Society has
pubhcly and officially announced through you, as its organ, that
it does not intend to recognize even the existence of this sin !
About a year since the ministers and delegates of the Con-

AMERICAN .TRACT S0CIETT. 643
gregational Union of Fox River, Illinois, addressed a very
Christian letter to the Society. In this letter they very forcibly
remark :
" We feel sure that the time has come when the continued absence
from the publicationsof your Society of all that relates to slavery, will
be significant ; that silence oan no longer be neutrality or indifference ;
and that a tract literature which speaks less plainly of slavery than of
other specific evils, will conduce to a defective, partial and unsound
morality." In your official reply of 27th February, 1852, without letting
a word escape your pen, acknowledging the sinfulness of Amer
ican slavery, you urge various reasons for not breaking the silence
so long observed by the Society respecting human bondage.
" It would seem a sacrifice of a greater to a lesser good, to engage in
the discussion of a topic aheady exhausted, with the likelihood of sat
isfying none, and with the certainty of alienating multitudes of our best
friends," &c.
Your publications, we are informed, must be of a character
" calculated to meet the approbation of all evangelical Chris
tians;" and you seem to think that, amid the anti-slavery
agitation, it is desirable " that at least one institution should
move forward on the simple errand that brought the Saviour
into the world — proclaiming Christ and him crucified," &c. ;
and you aver "that on no subject, probably, are evangelical
Christians more at variance " than on slavery ; and you con
clude with declaring that " the course of duty seems plain before
us to adhere as a society to the simple gospel in its essential
saving truths." The Union were not convinced by your argu
ments ; on the contrary, they resolved that ere long no catholic
society of publication can well refuse to express anti-slavery
truth in some of its various forms of moral or Biblical argument,
fact or sentiment ; and to hasten this desired consummation, they
ordered the correspondence to be made public.
I am unable to reconcile the position assumed in your letter
with the past action of the Society, or with the usually received
ideas of Christian obligation. It seems your tracts must meet

644 jay's works.
the approbation of all evangelical Christians. If we ask who
these are, we shall be told, such as agree in maintaining the
Scriptural authority of certain abstract doctrines. But we all
know, that these same Christians differ widely on various ques
tions of moral practice. You are not ignorant that evangelical
wine and rumsellers, and drinkers, abound both in town and
country ; and yet your Society is lavish of its censures on them.
It condemns the theatre and race-course, although not a few be
lievers in the evangelical creed frequent both. You issue pub
lications against dancing, and yet how many sons and daughters
mingle in the waltz, in the presence and with the consent of
their evangelical parents. You condemn travelling on the Sab
bath, yet our Sunday steamboats and rail-cars are not without
their evangelical passengers. You do not hesitate to rebuke
gambling, yet evangelicals may be found at the card and the
billiard-table. As far as I can judge, the publications of your
Society have been in accordance with the rule you announce on
few subjects, except that of human bondage and its attendant
atrocities. I know not that in the twenty-seven years of its ex
istence the Society has published a line intended to touch the
conscience of an American slave-breeder or trader. On the
contrary, especial care has been taken to expunge from your
reprints every expression that could even imply a censure on
our stupendous national iniquity. The Society has no hesitation
in condemning cruelty, oppression, and injustice, but it shrinks
with affright at the very idea of acknowledging that it is cruel,
oppressive and unjust to reduce a black man to the condition of
a beast of burden, to deny him legal marriage, and to sell him
and his children to the highest bidder, in company with the
beasts of the field. This extreme sensitiveness is shown in the
alteration of a passage in your reprint of Gurney's essay on the
habitual exercise of love to God. Gurney says :
"If this love had always prevailed among professing Christians,
where would have been the sword of the crusader? Where the
African slave-trade ? Where the odious system which permits to man
a property in his fellow-men, and converts rational beings into market
able chattels ? " Page 142.

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 645
This was meat too strong for the digestion of the Society, and
hence it was carefully diluted, so that it might be swallowed
without producing the slightest nausea, as follows :
"If this love had always prevailed among professing Christians,
where would have been the sword of the crusader ? Where ihe tortures
of the Inquisition ? Where every system of oppression and wrong by
which he who has the power revels in luxury and ease at the expense
of his fellow-men?" Page 199.
It was an ingenious thought to turn upon the Inquisition Gur
ney's application of his subject to slave-traders and holders, and
to lose sight oi property in man, in indefinite generalities.
Your last report, in announcing the reprint of the memoir of
Mary Lundie Duncan, tells us :
" A few pages, which the Committee deemed of less interest to the
general reader, or which alluded to points of disagreement among evan
gelical Christians, have been dropped."
The pages dropped are indeed few and unimportant, and
seemed to have been dropped for the purpose of justifying the
word " abridged " on the title-page. But the passages dropped
are very significant. In her diary for March 22, 1833, the fol
lowing passage is expunged in the Society's edition, while every
other word on the page is retained.
" We have been lately much interested in the emancipation of slaves.
I never heard, eloquence more overpowering than that of George
Thompson. I am most thankful that he has been raised up. O that
the measure soon to be proposed in Parliament may be effectual."
Poor Mary ! The American Tract Society will not allow you
to breathe a wish for West India emancipation by act of Par
liament, nor to admire the eloquence of an anti-slavery lecturer.
The biographer of this lovely and highly gifted saint remarks :
" When George Thompson, the eloquent pleader for the abolition of
slavery, was caUed to visit the United States in the hope that his re
markable power of influencing the public mind might be beneficial there,
we find the youthful philanthropist, whose ardent mind glowed with
exalted sympathies, and felt an interest in loftier occupations than
usually kindle the enthusiasm of girls of her age, embodying her de
sires for his success, in the following verses."
55

646 jay's works.
This paragraph and the lines they introduced are both ex
punged from your edition. A Broadway bookseller had already
published an unmutilated copy of the book, but this religious
society, more sensitive than even New York traffic to the good
will of the slave-holders, suppressed not merely the anti-slavery
poetry, but the testimony of a mother to the philanthropic sen
timents of her departed daughter ! But.the work of expurgation
did not stop here. In Mary's diary is the following entry :
"August 1. Freedom has dawned this morning on the British Col
onies. (No more degraded lower than the brutes — no more bowed down
with suffering from which there is no redress) the sons of Africa have
obtained the rights of fellow-subjects — the rights of man, the immortal
^creation of God. (Now they may seek ihe sanctuary fearless of the
lash — they may call their children their own.) Hope will animate their
hearts and give vigor to their efforts. Oh, for more holy men to show
them the way of salvation ! The Lord keep them from riot and idle
ness. They have been so httle taught that He only can avert confusion
and tumult as the result of their joy. Some Christians there are
among their-number, who will influence others. My poor fellow trav
ellers through life's short wilderness, may I meet with many of you in
heaven, where even I can hope to dwell through the love of my risen
Lord ! There none will despise the negro whom Jesus Christ hath
pitied and redeemed."
The passages in italics and in parentheses are expunged in the
Society's edition. Mary is permitted to announce that the ne
groes have become British subjects, to express her apprehensions
of riot and idleness, confusion and tumult, as consequences
of emancipation, and to indulge the hope of meeting negroes in
heaven, where they will not be despised. But she is not per
mitted to allude to the cruelties and abominations to which these
same negroes had been subjected. The expunged passages in
volve no doctrinal " points of disagreement among evangelical
Christians." Why then were they stricken out ? Because the
same cruelties and enormities to which she alluded, are perpe
trated at home by evangelical Christians who belong to and sup
port the American Tract Society.
The Society will not venture the denial of the truth of the
expunged assertions. It would surely not aver that American
slave children do belong to their parents. It would be put to
confusion by the solemn judicial affirmance of the validity of a

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 647
bequest of a mother to one person, and of her unborn children
to another. It would be confuted by the sale of children at
auction, and in particular of a sale reported within the few last
days, of a child three years old bringing three hundred dollars
under the hammer, while a southern paper adverts with pride
to the price of human flesh, as evidence of " our agricultural
prosperity." Your Society, sir, expunged Mary's assertions,
not because they were untrue, but because they are now as true
here as they were in the West Indies, and it is the policy of the
Society to cover up and conceal whatever reflects odium on the
"peculiar institution."
Your Committee tell us in their last Report that they " have
never lost sight of their responsibilities to those of tender
years;" and it seems they issue The Child's'' Paper, of which
great numbers are circulated. Yet the responsibilities to chil
dren resting on the Committee permit them to expunge an
expression likely to remind us that there are hundreds of thou
sands of children in our land who are mere articles of mer
chandise. These very responsibilities are, it seems, perfectly
compatible with entire silence respecting the ignorance and
degradation of this great multitude "of tender years." The
Committee know that in some of our States even a free mother,
if her complexion be dark, is, by law, liable to be scourged on
her bare back should she be taught teaching her little ones to
read your Child's Paper, yet not a word of remonstrance
escapes the American Tract Society ! In the very last number
of The Child's Paper I read that
" There are between 10,000 and 12,000 children in the City of New
York who never enter a church or school, and who cannot read the
Bible  Here are heathen at home ; what is doing
for them ?  These children must be cared for."
Indeed ! And is it nothing to your Society that there are in
our country about half a million of little black heathen who
are prevented by law from reading- the Bible ? These little
heathen have souls as imperishable, destinies as momentous, as
the white heathen in New York. Must this half million be
cared for ? Ah ! that is a " point of disagreement among evan-

648 jay's works.
gelical Christians," and hence the Society must not even recog
nize the existence of children who do not belong to their parents.
Permit me now to ask your attention to the very different
course pursued by the Society in regard to the traffic in the
bones and sinews, the mind and soul of immortal man, and the
traffic in intoxicating drinks. Between twenty and thirty of
your tracts are devoted to the subject of intemperance in all
its relations. It is curious to observe the desire of your writers
to avail themselves of the arguments and illustrations furnished
by slavery, and at the same time their extreme caution in
avoiding all reference to American slavery. Where even by
implication, censure is cast on human bondage,- it is human
bondage in other countries than our own. In Tract No. 300, to
the excuse of the* distiller, that he cannot sacrifice his property,
conscience is made to answer :
" Suppose you were now in Brazil and the owner of a large estab
lishment to fit out slave-traders with handcuffs for the coast of Africa,
and could not change your business without considerable pecuniary
sacrifice, would you make the sacrifice, or would you keep your fires
and hammers going ? "
In remonstrating against the cruelty of the traffic in rum, it
is remarked :
" If a man lives only to make a descent on the peaceful abodes of
Africa, and to tear away parents from their weeping children, and
husbands from their wives and homes, where is the man that will deem
this a moral business ? " " Other men will prey on unoffending
Africa and bear human sinews across the ocean to be sold. Have you
a right to do it ? " No. 305.
>Once more, speaking of the duty of rescuing the drunkard,
it is asked :
" What would you not do to pull a neighbor out of the water, or out
of the fire, or to deliver him from Algerine captivity ? " No. 422.
So it seems the Society is at liberty to hold up as cruel and
immoral the traffic in human flesh in Africa, Brazil, and Al
giers, but not in our own land — that being a "point of disa
greement among evangelical Christians."

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 649
And now, sir, I ask you, on what evangelical principle does
the Society condemn the foreign slave-trade ? Is it because an
act of Congress forbids it ? The Society has not yet, I believe,
like some of its patrons, elevated the lower above the higher
law, and made the national statute book the standard of right
and wrong. Nor, indeed, can the advocates of the supremacy
of the lower law maintain, that an act of Congress can render
immoral the conduct of Africans, Algerines and Brazilians,
when that conduct is in conformity with the laws of their
respective countries. Is it then, in reference to the higher law,
the will of God revealed in hia blessed gospel, that the foreign
traffic is condemned ? If so, then I ask to what divine precept
is it opposed ? Buying and selling and the exchange of com
modities are essential to human society, and are nowhere con
demned in God's word. Why then, sir, I ask in all seriousness
is it more immoral for an African to sell, or a Brazilian to buy
men and women, than apes and parrots ? Is it because men and
women are not by the higher law subjects of commerce? Be
fore you reply in the affirmative, remember that our laws,
framed for the most part by evangelical Christians, expressly
declare vast multitudes of men and women to be mere chattels,
vendible articles. Said Henry Clay, on the floor of the Senate,
vindicating property in man, " that is property which the law
makes property." Now, every slave sold in Africa to a Brazil
ian merchant, is property by the African law, and is granted,
bargained, sold, and delivered by a title as vahd as that ever
received by Mr. Clay to one of his slaves. Again, then, I ask,
why is the sale and purchase of a man in Africa, most undoubt
edly a heinous crime, while the immorality of the sale and pur
chase in Virginia of a fellow countryman and perhaps a fellow
Christian, is such an abstruse question, that the American Tract
Society will not venture to approach its discussion ? Can it be
that your Society is silent on this traffic, because it is sanctioned
by human law ? This can hardly be, since the Society is
unsparing in its denunciations of the traffic in rum, notwith
standing the powers that be, ordained as they are of God, have
55*

650 jay's works.
taken the traffic under their peculiar guardianship. Very irrev
erently does your tract speak of
" Stale debauch forth issuing from the sties
That law has licensed." No. 240.
You are silent on slavery because, as you say, on no other
subject probably " are evangelical Christians more at variance."
I think, sir, you greatly overrate the evangelical patrons and
advocates of slavery. I doubt whether you can find one
hundred evangelical Christians out of the slave States, uncon
nected in any way with slavery, slave-holders, and cotton, who
will publicly avow that American slavery is a righteous institu
tion, and the slave code in accordance with the spirit and pre
cepts of the gospel of Christ. Surely, surely, sir, I should make
a most extravagant and reckless estimate were I to compute the
evangelical champions of slave-breeding, slave-trading, and
slave-catching, at a tythe of the evangelicals who in their
practice repudiate total abstinence from intoxicating drinks.
Nevertheless, on this last " point of evangelical disagreement,"
the Society expresses itself without fear and without reserve.
But some of our friends, you may say, insist that the Bible
sanctions slavery, and what can we do ? And some of your
friends also insist that the Bible sanctions moderate drinking,
and the sale of intoxicating drinks, and what do you do ? Why,
you tell us
" The great laws of morals are indeed unchanged, but the degrees of
light and knowledge which men possess may be very different. We
shoidd not deem it right to apply our laws and knowledge in judging
of the laws of Sparta which authorized theft — nor our views of the
marriage relation, to condemn the conduct of Abraham, David and
Jacob. Man's conduct is to be estimated by the light he has."
To the plea that the Bible does not prohibit the traffic it is
answered :
" Where is there a formal prohibition of piracy, or bigamy, or kid
napping, or suicide, or ^duelling, or the sale of obscene books and
paintings? ... The truth is, that the Bible has laid down great
principles of conduct, which on all these subjects could be easily
applied, which are applied, and which under the guidance of equal
honesty may be as easily applied to the subject of which I am speak
ing." No. 305. e

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 651
To assail slavery is to assail its supporters, and you think
that the Society, by discussing the subject, would alienate mul
titudes of its best friends. Similar delicacy, or, if you please,
prudence has not been observed towards the advocates of
moderate drinking.
" Our next opposition is from a band clothed in white — professors
of our holy religion — enlisted soldiers of the Chukch, engaged to
every good work of benevolence : they come to intercede for the
monster, (moderate drinking,) and oppose our enterprise. What
can be the meaning of this ? 0, where lies this astonishing witchery ?
What has put the Church to sleep ? What has made her angry
at the call to come forth from the embrace of her deadliest foe ? " No.
240. Were the inquiry made, what witchery has made the Church
blind, and deaf and dumb, in regard to the groans and sufferings
of millions on our soil denied the word of God, and forcibly
kept in ignorance and degradation ? — the true answer would
be, I am persuaded, " The neutrality of the American Tract
Society, and the vast number of the clergy, to whom the fear of
man has proved a snare."
Very strange is it that while the Society will not even hint
dislike to slavery, it brings against the traffic in rum an array
of arguments equally effective and valid against the traffic in
men, women and children. Thus you urge the duty of doing as
you would be done by, and the remorse we shall feel at death
for the suffering we have inflicted, and the great command
to love our neighbor (No. 242) ¦ — our responsibility to God for
the results of our own selfishness (No. 300) — the waste of
human happiness (No. 240) — that the traffic " tears asunder
the strongest bonds of society, it severs the tenderest ties of
nature" (No. 249). To the plea of the rumseller that his
trade is his livelihood, it is answered, " beg, dig, do anything,
but this. It would be a glorious martyrdom to starve, con
trasted with obtaining a livelihood by such an employment"
(No. 305). "Where have you derived authority to procure a
living at a sacrifice of conscience, cheracter and the dearest in
terests of others ? " (No. 239.)
The Society shrinks from the opposition it would encounter

652 Jay's works.
from slave-holders. In your letter already quoted, you vindi
cate "the peaceful course pursued by the Society," and you
say " When there shall be unity of sentiment, and a treatise of standard
value shall be written, such as the Committee can approve, then there
will be propriety in claiming that a Tract press shall engage in this
branch of moral discussion."
Unless I mistake your meaning, there is here an implied
promise, that when all evangelical Christians are united in con
demning slavery, both in theory and practice, and when of course
the monster is at his last gasp, and there is no use in striking
another blow, then the Society will attack him, provided the
Committee shall cordially agree as to the weapon to be used.
In the meantime, while the monster is in full vigor and extend
ing his ravages, you think it best, " that at least one institution
should move forward on the simple errand that brought the
Saviour into the world — proclaiming Christ and him crucified,"
&c. Happy is it, sir, that this desire for peace, this longing to
proclaim Christ and him crucified, without heeding popular and
prevailing sins, was not felt by the Society till after it had done
battle against gamblers, dancers, theatre-goers, Sabbath-break
ers, moderate drinkers, and rumsellers. Your tracts against
intemperance display anything but a non-resistant spirit. For
example —
" The demon will daunt the timid. It is noisy and fiery; attack it,
and it will roll its eyes and snap its teeth, and threaten vengeance.
Attempt to starve it, and it will rage like the famished tiger. Thou
sands have fed it against their consciences rather than meet its fury.
But fear not. Be firm — be decided — be courageous, connect your
cause with Heaven. It is the cause of God, the cause for which
Immanuel died. Let the demon no longer hide in the sanctuary. Expel
forever the accursed enemy, that the Lord may bless us with life and
peace." No. 240.
Possibly the Society has deemed it its duty to cooperate with
Union Saving Committees and Baltimore politicians, and cotton
merchants, in their patriotic efforts to suppress all discussion of
the " delicate subject," a discussion having such disturbing in
fluences on northern trade and politics. Yet such a supposition

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 653
cannot be allowed, after the noble testimony borne by the
Society to the right and benefit of free discussion.
• " There are some great principles in regard to our country which are
settled, and which are never to be violated so long as our liberties are
safe. Among them are these : that every subject may be subjected to
candid and most free discussion ; that public opinion, enlightened and
correct, may be turned against any course of evil conduct ; that public
opinion is, under God, the prime source of security to our laws and
morals, and that men may be induced by ample discussion, and by the
voice of conscience and of reason, to abandon any course that is
erroneous." No. 305.
Such are the rights and benefits of discussion when directed
against the seller of rum ; do they lose all their virtue when
directed against the seller of human flesh ?
Perhaps your Society revolts at the idea of descending into
the arena of politics, but if so, how are we to understand the
following exhortation ? " Let all who regard the virtue, the
honor, and the patriotism of the country, icithhold their suffrages
from those candidates who offer ardent spirits as a bribe to
secure their elevation to office." But suppose they offer as a
bribe to secure their elevation to office, not a glass of brandy
and water, but a fresh discovered law of physical geography,
precluding all legal restraints on the extension of human bond
age — Baltimore platforms, to destroy the liberty of speech,
of the press, and the pulpit — indictments for high treason,
offering to the Southern Moloch the blood of Christians, who, in
the fear of God, refuse when summoned to join in slave-hunts ¦. —
shall we withhold our suffrages ?
On the whole, sir, I cannot but think that your Society has
greatly mistaken its duty to God and man, in shrinking from
pronouncing slavery, as well as gambling and horse-racing, a
moral evil. Unquestionably, the Society has acted in perfect
accordance with the general policy of the northern church, both
Popish and Protestant. That policy is more easily understood
than vindicated. So intimate are our commercial relations with
the South, and so dependent are our politicians for the most
trifling office upon the support of their party by southern votes,
that to ask them and our merchants to participate in measures

654 jay's works.
and opinions offensive to their southern patrons, is like asking
the favor of them to pluck out a right eye, or cut off a right
hand. Of course, the pecuniary and party interests of these
men react on the church and religious societies with which they
are connected. Hence has grown up a secular and ecclesiastical
alliance, offensive and defensive, with slavery. But this alliance,
although undoubtedly embracing many worthy men, is neverthe
less in direct antagonism with the gospel of Christ, and has
consequently led, and is daily leading to most disastrous results.
It has caused the avowal by men of high position in both church
and state, of principles utterly subversive of that regard for jus
tice and mercy, which is not only one of the peculiar and beautiful
features of our holy religion, but also, and especially in a De
mocracy, one of the strongest safeguards of person and property.
Some slave-holders in Congress propose a law, the provisions of
which may well have been inspired by that evil and malignant
spirit that goeth about seeking whom he may devour — a law
openly setting at defiance the established rules of evidence, and
levelling in the dust all the barriers erected by the common law
around the personal liberty of the citizen — a law requiring every
man, at the summons of a miscreant slave-catcher, to assist him
in his damnable work — a law seeking by fine and imprisonment
to suppress the impulses of humanity and the gushings of Chris
tian sympathy. No sooner is this accursed law proposed, than
rival politicians contend for the honor of giving it their support ;
and no sooner is it enacted, than the two great rival parties
strive to gain votes for their presidential candidates by pledging
their best endeavors to carry it into execution. Many indi
viduals, however, affirm that a law thus requiring them to par
ticipate in deeds of cruelty and injustice, is at variance with the
divine commands. Forthwith we have our public men and our
party press sneering at the " higher law," and insulting all who
acknowledge its paramount authority to an act of Congress ; worse
than all, we have our ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ descanting
from their pulpits on the reverence due to the " powers that be,"
as ordained of God, and actually urging the duty of obedience
to one of the most ungodly and execrable enactments of modern

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 655
legislation. Occasionally it was indeed admitted, that under
peculiar circumstances, and multiplied conditions, we ought to
obey God rather than man, but at the same time it was distinctly
taught, not merely that we should not forcibly resist the Fugitive
Law, but that the "higher law" did not dispense with our ob
ligation to catch slaves.
In the zeal, the rivalry and the cruelty displayed in seizing
the hapless and innocent fugitive, and hurrying him back to the
house of bondage, of mental darkness and bodily suffering, lessons
of cruelty and injustice have been set by the rich and moral,
which will not be lost on the needy and profligate. Many of
our wealthy and influential gentlemen are sowing seeds which
may yet yield to them and their children most bitter fruit.
The shocking insensibility of our churches, religious societies
and religious men, to the iniquities of slavery, of course involves
them in gross inconsistencies, degrades the character of the gos
pel of Christ, and gives a mighty impulse to infidelity. Never
before, in my opinion, has the American Church been in such
peril as at present, and from almost every portion of it comes
up a cry of distress. There is no failure of money. The coun
try is rich, and our wealthy men are liberal, and pride and
ostentation and competition secure the erection of gorgeous and
expensive churches. But there is a failure of increase of min
isters and members. The population is outgrowing the church,
and the love of many is waxing cold. From men like Tom
Paine and most of his followers the church has little to fear.
They hate the gospel because their deeds are evil. Their lives
are a sufficient antidote to their doctrines. But a new class of
converts to infidelity is springing up, men whose fearless and
disinterested fidelity to truth, mercy and justice, extort unwilling
respect. These men reject the gospel, not because it rebukes
their vices, but because they are taught by certain of its clergy,
and the conduct of a multitude of its professors, that it sanctions
the most horrible cruelty and oppression, allowing the rich and
powerful forcibly to reduce the poor and helpless to the condi
tion of working animals, articles of commerce, and to keep their
posterity in ignorance and degradation to the end of time.

656 jay's works.
Every argument wrested from the Bible in behalf of slavery
applies to the bondage of white men. Hence the modern pro-
slavery divinity justifies the ancient villanage and the modern
serfdom, and would justify their indefinite extension. If it be
right to hold three millions of human beings as chattels, it is
equally right to hold hundreds of millions. Hence Christianity,
if it indeed authorizes this unlimited despotism of the strong
over the weak — this vast indefinite annihilation of the conjugal
and parental relations — this total abrogation of the rights of
conscience, of property, of personal happiness, has surely little
claim to our reverence, for its tendency to mitigate the sorrows
and troubles of the present life. Certainly it is not wonderful
that benevolent, well-meaning men should question divine au
thority of a religion sanctioning such tremendous enormities, and
whose professors recommend the catching of slaves, as a service
acceptable to the Deity, when required by act of Congress.
Most orthodox, sir, is the faith professed by the Society ? I
thank my God and Heavenly Father that he has given me
grace to embrace with my whole heart and understanding the
doctrines you denominate evangelical. But it behoves us all to
remember that a workless faith is a worthless faith. Can we
refuse obedience to the second of the two great commandments
on which hang all the law and the prophets, and yet hope to be
saved for our orthodoxy ? Very properly your Society has not "
confined itself to the simple proclamation of Christ and him
crucified, but has added practice to faith by assailing sin in its
various forms, laboring to convince the sinner of his guilt, and
striving to excite him to repentance and reformation. But the
sin most rampant in our land — a sin which counts its victims
by millions, and its perpetrators, abettors and apologists by mil
lions more — a sin which taints our holy things, enfeebles our
churches, corrupts our statesmen, sways our judges, hardens the
hearts of our people, blunts their sense of mercy and justice,
and which is crowding the ranks of infidelity — this sin may
not be mentioned in our fashionable pulpits to " ears polite," nor
even alluded to in the multifarious publications of the American
Tract Society.

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 657
And now, sir, what is to be done ? Your response of course
is, Nothing. You will be at no loss for arguments to show that
any anti-slavery action on your part will not merely diminish
your receipts, and thus lessen your ability to do good, but will
also prevent your tracts and volumes from conveying religious
truth to the inhabitants of the slave States. The question of
duty is not to be decided by an estimate of probable receipts.
Nor is it by any means certain that your policy is the wisest in
a pecuniary sense, or that one or two tracts condemning Ameri
can slavery as a moral evil would prove injurious to your
treasury. The persistence of the American Board in counte
nancing slavery in its mission churches, in deference to the contri
butions of its southern patrons, called into existence the present
flourishing and efficient "American Missionary Association,"
daily growing in strength and public favor. This new institution
is almost wholly supported by former subscribers to the Board.
In the last report of the Board, I find the total amount of do
nations received the preceding year, stated at $299,703.90. Of
this sum, $10,267.25 came from the slave States and the District
of Columbia. Now the last report of the Association announces
the receipt of $31,134.60 for the past year. Nearly every cent
of this sum is virtually a premium paid by the Board on its
southern subscriptions! The American Tract Society, if I am
not much mistaken, is destined to pay a premium of the like
kind. You will perhaps say that it is better our southern brethren
should be saved as slave-holders, breeders, and traders, than not
at all, and therefore you will not touch the subject of slavery,
because if you do, you cannot reach them with your tracts, which
under God might lead to their conversion and salvation. If
this principle be correct, it is of wide application. The Terri
tory of Utah is acquiring a large population, and will soon claim
admission into the Union. The people are polygamists, but it
is better they should be saved as such than not at all. Hence
it becomes the duty of the Society, for fear of offending them, to
avoid all allusion to the Christian doctrine of marriage, and to
"move forward on the simple errand that brought theSavioflr
56

658 jay's works.
into the world, proclaiming Christ and him crucified," and thus
rendering the tracts- acceptable and useful to our Mormon breth
ren. So, also, as the usefulness of the minister of Christ de
pends on his message being heard, he ought to preach smooth
things, lest by offending his people, by telling them unwelcome
truth, he drive them beyond the sound of the gospel.
I believe, sir, not only that this reasoning is unsound, but that
the apprehension on which it is founded is groundless. It is not
desired by any that your institution should be converted into an
anti-slavery, any more than into an anti-gambling tract society.
All that is asked is, that this great and influential Christian
association should publicly dissent from the impious claim made
by the advocates of American slavery, that this vast mass of
accumulated sin and misery is sanctioned by the God of mercy
and justice, and allowed by the crucified Redeemer — in other
words, that American slavery should share in the condemnation
you bestow on " the theatre, the circus and the horse-race."
Were you to issue one or two tracts against American slavery
as a moral evil, will it be ^seriously contended that thenceforth
none of your thousands of publications on other subjects would
be allowed to cross the frontiers of the slave region ? Recollec^
sir, that when a human chattel of three years will bring $300
at auction, and its two parents from $1,500 to $2,000, slaves are
and must be the possession only of the rich. By the census of
1840 (I have not the last at hand) there were in the slave
States, 1,016,307 white males over twenty years of age, and of
these, — various data assure me it is a very liberal estimate, —
200,000 were the holders of slaves. And is it possible, sir, that
of this prodigious majority of non-slaveholders, none will read
any of your biographies and religious treatises, because they
may have heard that you have published one or two little tracts
against a sin of which they are themselves guiltless ? When
" Uncle Tom's Cabin " is sold and read at the South, is it credible
that a few slave-holders can exclude all your millions of pages
from the vast southern region ? Can your agents and colpor
teurs be excluded from fifteen States of this Union, because of
the mighty mass of your publications, twenty or thirty pages

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 659
are directed against the conduct of a few rich men? The
apprehension that should the Society be faithful to the calls of
duty its efficiency for good would be impaired, is not, in my
opinion, consistent with that Chistian faith so forcibly inculcated
in many of your tracts. For myself, I firmly believe that
before long the Society will find its present policy productive
not of strength, but of weakness. That policy has given birth
to the " American Reform Tract and Book Society." In a late
acknowledgment of receipts by this infant institution I observe
contributions from no less than eight States.
To me it seems obvious that Christians entertaining such con
tradictory views of the divine attributes of the spirit of the
gospel and of Christian obligation as are involved in the justi
fication and condemnation of American slavery, cannot much
longer act together in sending missionaries to preach, or em
ploying the press to inculcate a religion respecting the funda
mental moral principles of which the two parties entertain such
antagonistic opinions.
It is one of the incidents of our imperfect state, that sincere
Christians often think they are doing God service, while pursu
ing opposite paths, and when of course one or the other must
tend in a wrong direction. May we accord to others the charity
we ask for ourselves, and I pray God that those who condemn
in others the sin of oppressing their brethren, may feel their
own unworthiness, and remember that they themselves, no less
than the wretched slave-catcher, need to be washed in that blood
which alone cleanseth from all sin.
I am, reverend sir,
Your obedient servant,
William Jay.

LETTER
TO LEWIS TAPPAN, ESQ., TREASURER OF THE AMERICAN
MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.

Dear Sir : — I have read with great pain the exposure, in a
late number of the American Missionary, of the conduct of the
American Board in relation to the Choctaw and Cherokee In
dians. This powerful Society has established missions in these
two tribes of our Aborigines, who have so far advanced in
civihzation and the adoption of " our institutions " as to hold
and use certain of their fellow-men as beasts of burden. The
missionaries sent among these people, instead of teaching them
the Christian duties of justice and mercy, have virtually in
structed them that they might be good Christians without loving
their neighbors, or doing to others as they would others should
do unto them. Says a Secretary of the Board, who had visited
the missions, " It does not seem to have been the aim of the
brethren (missionaries) to exert any direct influence, either by
their public or private teachings, upon the system of slavery."
In the last Report we find the Board extolling their converts
as saints, and eulogizing the governments estabUshed by these
slave-holding Indians, although tolerating and perpetrating
atrocities unknown to the despotisms of Europe.
56»

662 jay's works.
We are told, p. 29, " The Choctaws have a good govern
ment. They have a written constitution, with a declaration of
.rights, which embodies the liberty of the press, trial by jury, the
rights of conscience, proper safeguards of person and property,
the equality of Christian denominations^ and almost every great
principle of civil and religious freedom."
Certainly the Board are by no means ultra in their ideas of
civil and religious freedom, and the rights of conscience. What
is the religious freedom of their own missionaries? "If any
citizen of the United States," says a law of this good govern
ment, " acting as a missionary or preacher, or whatever his
occupation may be, is found to take an active part in favoring
the principles and notions of the most fatal and destructive
doctrines of the abolitionists, he shall be compelled to leave the
nation, and for ever stay out of it." Of course, men of God
Uke Wesley, Hopkins, and Edwards, are disqualified from
preaching the gospel among the Choctaws ; for such men would
not, like the missionaries of the Board, consent to be gagged on
the obligation to do justice and love mercy. Not only must
these missionaries be dumb on the iniquities of slavery, but they
can remain at their posts only on condition of not violating the
hw of caste, since the statute declares that allowing slaves
'* to sit at table with them shall be ground to convict persons of
favoring the principles and notions of abolitionism." So, if a
missionary presumes to eat with a slave, perhaps his spiritual
s.on in the gospel, he is to be expelled the nation, and ever
stay out of it ! and so he is, if he dares to teach a slave to read
the Bible without the consent of his master ! This good gov
ernment provides " proper safeguards of persons and property,"
by enacting that a slave shall possess no property, and that his
person shall be a vendible article. " Civil freedom " is secured
by a law which declares that if any free negroes shall return
into, the nation, " they shall be seised and sold to the highest bidder
for life." By another law, any free negro presuming to enter
and remain in the nation is to receive one hundred lashes on
his bare back, and to forfeit all the property he may possess !
We are officially assured, p. 32, that " The Cherokees have

AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 663
An excellent government : the usual safeguards for person,
property, the rights of conscience, &c, are provided." This
same excellent government deprives of all the rights of citizen
ship every child of a red man by a black or yellow wife, declares
void every marriage of the kind, and subjects the parties to
scourging ! Whoever teaches a slave, or any free negro, not of
Cherokee blood, to read or write, is to be fined from $100 to
$500. This exception in favor of negroes of their own blood
is a natural prejudice which our more civilized slave-holders
have most effectually conquered. In our Christian slave codes
we find no favor whatever shown to negroes of Anglo-Saxon
blood. -Free negroes are to be expelled from the nation.
And now I ask, what is the inference to be drawn from this
strange, false, blundering, but ofiicial eulogy of these Indian
slave-holding governments ? Why, that the slave codes of our
Southern States, with all their execrable wickedness, crushing
in the dust three millions of immortal beings, are perfectly
compatible with good and excellent government ! Even the
government of South Carolina, under which more than one half
of the whole population, men, women, and children, are articles-
of merchandise, and robbed of every civil and religious right, is
a proper subject of Christian eulogy ! What amount of tyranny,
cruelty, and wickedness constitutes a bad government, we are
not informed. Certainly the Board has relieved itself from all
suspicion of anti-slavery fanaticism, and has proved itself de
serving the pecuniary patronage of our " southern brethren."
A few years since, in consequence of pressure from without, it
announced to the public that " it can sustain no relation to sla
very which implies approbation of the system, and as a Board
can have no connection or sympathy with it." But, like many
others, the Board has since " conquered its prejudices."
It may be asked, Would you abandon these Indians to heath
enism because they are slave-holders ? I answer, I would not
present the gospel to these or any other people in such a form
as to lead them to believe that Christianity authorized them to
abandon to heathenism the poor and oppressed among them, by
subjecting them to enforced ignorance and degradation ; and this

664 jay's works.
is what the Board is virtually doing. But why prefer preaching
the gospel under a gag, to preaching it with perfect freedom
to other Indians who hold no slaves ? Had the missionaries,
with Christian firmness and fidelity, pointed out to these Indians
the wickedness of then* laws, and the inconsistency of their
slave-holding with the precepts of Christianity, they would no
doubt have done great good ; and had they been expelled for
their fidelity, they would have honored Christ by suffering in
his cause, instead of bringing a reproach on his religion by their
time-serving policy. In such a case, the Board would have lost
some, perhaps all, their southern subscribers ; but what amount
of subscriptions will compensate for the virtual although silent
- abrogation among these Indian converts of the second of the
two great commandments on which hang all the law and the
prophets, so far as it affects their obligations to men not colored
like themselves ?
I cannot persuade myself that we are justified in the sight of
God in concealing any divine command or prohibition, for the
purpose of rendering the gospel more palatable to those to
whom we present it. I have heretofore occasionally contributed
to the funds of the American Board, but can do so no more ;
and I rejoice that in sending you the enclosed check* I have the
full assurance that I am in no degree strengthening influences
adverse' to the rights, happiness, and religious improvement of
an afflicted portion of the human family.
Yours faithfully,
William Jay.
For one hundred dollars.

INDEX.
Abolitionists, mobs excited against them, 116 ; infidelity opposed to
them, 119; charged with treason and incendiarism, 148; ask for
no violation by Congress of State rights, 162.
Adams, J. Q., on the influence of slavery, 512.
Advertisements, atrocious, for fugitive slaves, 484.
African slave-trade, calumnies against its English opponents, 142 ;
history of its abolition by Great Britain, 210 ; remarkable resolu
tion by six Quakers, 210 ; duplicity of American Government in
regard to its suppression, 276 ; Virginia, as a breeding State, hostile
to the trade, 277; contraband trade long continued, 277; con
nived at by officials, 279 ; efforts of Congress connected with the
colonization scheme, 282 ; declared to be piracy, but no execu
tion under the law, 285 ; treaty of 1814 ; its obligations evaded,
285, 287; hypocritical negotiation respecting the trade, 287;
the American flag employed to protect the trade, 292 ; carried on
in Liberia, 302 ; history of the constitutional provision respecting
the trade, 578.
American slave-trade protected by Congress, 258, 275; its horrors,
259 ; its extent, 12, 264 ; loss of life, 272 ; power of Congress to
suppress it, 274; invoice of slaves shipped, 429; scene at Wil-
migton, 478.
American Board of Foreign Missions, its countenance of slavery, and
the slave code, 661.
Anti-Slavery Christians, address to, 621.
Anti-Slavery Society, American, its principles, 125; objects, 139;
measures, 140 ; calumnies against its members, 141.
Archer, Mr., of Virginia, his testimony of the utility of the Colonization
Society to slavery, 105.
Bible Society- of New Orleans, gives no bibles to slaves, 475.
Bishops, English, testimony against slavery, 436.

666 INDEX.
Black Act of Connecticut, 39.
Board of Missions, Episcopal, time-serving policy, 438.
Buxton, Sir F., his protest against the Colonization Society, 123.
California and New Mexico, address to people of, 490 ; faith of the
Federal Government violated, for the purpose of introducing
slavery, 491.
California, Mr. Clay's plan for admitting into the Union, 553.
Canaan Academy, destroyed by a pro-slavery mob, 384.
Canterbury, proceedings against school for colored girls, 384.
Caste, cruelty and wickeness of, 441, 449, 629.
Churches, action of in behalf of slavery, 412 ; hold and sell slaves, 473.
Clay, Henry, letter on his proposed compromise, 553 ; admits the
Wilmot proviso to be constitutional, 558; proposes to enlarge
Texas, 558 ; to limit the power of Congress over slavery in the
District of Columbia, 559 ; proposes new facilities for slave-catch
ing, 560 ; proposes to guarantee the American slave-trade, 565.
Clergy promote infidelity by advocating slavery, 435, 486 ; their con
duct in Charleston, South Carolina, 475.
Colonization Society, American, origin and professed object, 15 ;
avows no principle or motive, 16 ; supported from opposite prin
ciples and motives, 17; opposed by the free blacks, 22; excuses
and justifies the oppression of the free blacks, 24 ; their improve
ment discouraged, 28 ; number sent to Africa, 30 ; advocated by
the persecutors of the free blacks, 52 ; influence exerted in behalf
of. slavery, 74 ; expenditures, 79 ; average annual export of manu
mitted slaves, less than the daily increase of slaves, 80 ; impossi
bility of removing the slave population, 82 ; hostility to emancipa
tion, 97, 101, 108; acknowledges the right of property in man,
99 ; avows its tendency to strengthen slavery, 106 ; denounces
abohtion societies, 114; applauded by anti-abolition mob, 118;
infidelity arrayed in its favor, 119 ; fostered by Federal Govern
ment, 300 ; removal of the slaves would ruin the slave States, 195.
Congress, violence and immorality of certain members, 514 ; gag rules,
405.
Connecticut, disastrous influence of Colonization Society, 31, 36,38;
inflammatory petition for the exile of the free blacks, 51.
Constitution of the United States, sinful concessions to slave-holders,
217; Federal ratio of representation, and its consequences, 218.
Convention of abolition societies in 1827, 113.
Crandall, Miss, her school at Canterbury broken up, 34 ; herself im
prisoned, 41 ; tried, 42 ; convicted, 50.

INDEX. 667
Crummell, Mr., his treatment in the Episcopal church, 442.
Cuba, intrigues of Federal Government to prevent emancipation, 319.
Daggett, Judge, his decision against the citizenship of colored per
sons examined, 43.
District of Columbia, action respecting abohtion of slavery, 214 ; hor
rible law, 235 ; freemen sold as slaves, to pay their jail fees, 238 ;
Congress refuses to interfere in any way, 244 ; Grand Jury pre
sents the slave-trade, 268 ; trade described by Judge Morrill, 268 ;
denounced by John Randolph, 269; horrors of the trade, 269;
its extent, 270; trade licensed, 271.
Dogs kept for hunting slaves, 419.
Eliot, Samuel A., letter to him on his apology for voting for the fugi
tive law, 571.
Emancipation, immediate safety of, 167, 186; effect of in the West
Indies, 187; preferable to gradual, 191; would enrich the slave
States, 196.
Factory children, law for their protection and education, 480.
Federal Government, its action in behalf of slavery, 234 ; unconstitu
tional interference in catching fugitives, 236 ; innocent and free
men sold as slaves under its authority, 238 ; negotiates for catch
ing slaves in Canada and Mexico, 245, 246 ; offers to catch slaves
for West India masters, 246; slaughter of fugitives in Florida,
248 ; reward paid for their slaughter, 249 ; negotiation for the
payment of fugitives, and recovery of shipwrecked slaves, 249,
252; protects the American slave-trade, 268; summary of its
action in behalf of slavery, 351 ; efforts to subject the press to a
censorship, 342. See Free people of color.
Florida territory, atrocious law sanctioned by Congress, 230.
Forte, Senator, of Mississippi, 612.
Florida, war waged in behalf of slavery, 308.
Franklin, President of Pennsylvania Abolition Society, 113.
Freeman, Bishop, his extravagant defence of slavery, 412, 416.
Free people of color, cruel laws against them, 25 ; often pass for white
persons, 25 ; oppressed and degraded by the laws of Congress,
232; their citizenship, 46 ; physical reasons urged against it, 50 ;
persecuted in Virginia to promote colonization, 54 ; their opinion
of the Colonization Society, 57; atrocious law in Maryland, 93
their number, 371 ; prejudice against them, 372 ; their disabilities,
374; base conduct of the Ohio Legislature, 379; excluded from
army and militia, 381 ; and from all participation in the adminis-
tion of justice, 382 ; impediments to their education, 383 ; Ohio

668 INDEX.
laws, 385 ; impediments to religious instruction, 386 ; impediments
to honest industry, 387 ; liability to be converted into slaves, 389 ;
subject to insult and outrage, 303 ; refused burial in a church
cemetery, 393 ; assailed by mobs, 353.
Free States, the, their responsibilities, 353.
Fugitive law, if constitutional, still cruel and unjust, 572 ; history of
the constitutional provision respecting fugitives, 575; wickedness
of the law, 585 ; unconstitutional provisions, 591 ; attempt to
enforce the law by making those who resist, traitors, 631.
Georgia, its Legislature offers a reward for the abduction of a citizen
of Boston, 523.
Guadaloupe, history of emancipation in, 177.
Hayti, hostility of Federal Government, 323. See St. Domingo.
Hopkins, S. M., strange colonization address by, 103.
Indians, intercourse with, by Federal Government, made subservient
to slavery, 303.
Ives, Bishop, vindicates slavery, 414 ; his slave catechism, 427 ; letter
to, 453.
Jackson, President, letter to, 364.
Jay, John, President of New York Abohtion Society, 112; opposed to
caste, 147.
Jewish servitude, 432.
Jones, Rev. C. C, how treated by the slaves to whom he preached, 470 ;
his slave catechism, 472.
Judson, Andrew T., his conduct respecting Canterbury school, 35."
Laws, slave, 129, 421.
Liberia, slave-trade, 129; civilization, 64.
Louisiana planters, instructed by a Congressional document in the
management of slaves, 231.
Macauley, Z., his protest against the Colonization Society, 123.
Maryland appropriates money for colonization, avowedly to streno-then
slavery, 90; cruel laws against free blacks, 91, 93; base conduct
of the legislature, 94.
Mead, Bishop, his prayer in relation to slaves, 100.
Mosaic Scriptures, no justification of American slavery, 625.
Nelson, W., letter to, 553.
New Haven proceedings, respecting a proposed college for colored
persons, 31.
Oxford, Bishop of, introductory remarks to his reproof of the Ameri
can church, 409.

INDEX. 669
Paulding, J. K., mutilates his own writings, and denies his own asser
tions, vindicates slavery, and is made Secretary of the Navy, 259,
273.
Petition, right of, address on, 398 ; effort of Congress to suppress it in
relation to slavery, 347, 405.
Pennsylvania, disgraceful conduct of Episcopal church, and its Bishop,
446 ; Christian conduct of Presbyterian Synod, 450.
Preston, Senator, of South Carolina, is for hanging abolitionists, 507.
Rewards offered for the abduction of northern citizens, 523.
Sierra Leone, immorality of the colony, 73.
Slave insurrections, 199.
Slavery, its legal definition, 126, 421 ; testimony of distinguished men
against it, 144, 436, 456 ; under authority of Federal Government,
153; atrocities committed, 154; danger from its continuance,
199, 203 ; safety of its abolition, 167, 186 ; Roman, 416.
Slave-holders, their lamentations over the poor of England, 479 ; their
power to oppress, compared with that of English manufacturers,
481; their number, 497; public murders committed by them,
524; control the Federal Government, 545; their future pros
pects, 547 ; the sources of their influence in Congress, 220.
Slaves, rewards offered for the murder of fugitives, 424 ; owned and
sold by churches, 473 ; their heathenism, 463 ; a spurious Chris
tianity offered to them, 460; not sincerely embraced, 470; num
ber, Jan. 1, 1835, at different periods, 11; increase in different
States, 11 ; ratio of increase of slaves and whites, in the slave
States, 12; price of, 87; white slaves, 261; no legal marriage,
130; prevented from learning to read, 134; may not hold re
ligious meetings, 135; free persons made slaves by law, 127;
Slaves, white, in the Barbary States, 609.
States, slave, increase of population, 497, 544; education, 501 ; industry
503; contempt for the laboring classes, 507; religion, 511;
morals, 513 ; disregard of human fife, 516 ; contempt for constitu
tional obligation, 530 ; liberty of speech, 533 ; liberty of the press,
534 ; military weakness, 537.
St. Domingo, history of emancipation, 171.
Tappan, Lewis, letter to, respecting American Board of Missions, 661.
Testimonials against slavery, 144, 436, 456.
Tyler, John, advocates lawless violence against abolitionists, 518.
Texas, used by Federal Government, to promote slavery, 332.
Treason, law of, used by Federal Government to enforce the Fugitive
Act, 631. 57

670 INDEX.
Tract Society, American, letter on its silence respecting slavery, and
its expurgation of anti-slavery sentiments from its reprints, 642.
Veracity, want of it, in the advocates of slavery, 459.
Virginia, a breeding State for the southern market, 264.
Union of the States, effect of its dissolution on slavery, 357; conditions
on which the slave-holders will continue it, 612.
Webster, Daniel, 584, 591, 602, 610, 613, 616, 626, 633.
West Indies, apprenticeship and emancipation, 186 ; proportion of
whites to slaves, 188.
Wilberforce, his protest against the Colonization Society, 122.

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